FG commences deduction of workers’ salaries for health insurance

The Federal Government has commenced deduction of civil servants salaries for their statutory contributions to the National Health Insurance Scheme.

This was contained in a circular on Wednesday in Abuja titled, ‘Implementation of Statutory Deduction for the National Health Insurance Scheme’.

According to the government, the mandatory NHIS deductions began in October, leading to the reduction noticed across Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The clarification followed widespread complaints by federal workers on social media over unexplained salary cuts ranging from N1,000 to N2,000.

The circular stated that, “The Federal Government wishes to inform all federal public servants that the implementation of statutory deduction for the National Health Insurance Scheme has commenced with effect from October 2025.

“Accordingly, a mandatory NHIS contribution has been deducted from every federal government employee’s monthly salary beginning from the month of October. This adjustment accounts for the observed reduction in the October 2025 salary across MDAs.”

The NHIS is a social health insurance programme aimed at providing financial risk protection and access to quality healthcare for Nigerians.

In 2022, the Federal Government mandated all employers and employees in the public, private and informal sectors to obtain health insurance after former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the National Health Insurance Authority Bill, 2021, into law.

The government maintains that the NHIS will benefit workers by improving access to affordable and quality healthcare, reducing their out-of-pocket medical expenses.