The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and civil servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) have demanded a new minimum wage of ₦500,000 and a reduction in the petrol pump price to ₦500 per litre.
In a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu, the unions stated that the current economic hardship, driven by fuel prices surging to ₦1,430 and above, has made life unbearable for workers and their dependents.
Describing the demands as realistic and legitimate, the coalition of public service unions—including the Medical and Health Workers Union, the Nigerian Civil Service Union, and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives—has given the Federal Government until Wednesday, September 30, 2026, to act.
The council warned that the prevailing hardship is creating palpable tension across the country and stressed that the current situation requires systemic price interventions rather than temporary food palliatives.
The council criticized existing palliative distributions, such as bags of rice and vegetable oil, dismissing them as unsustainable interventions that weaponize poverty and fail to reach the majority of citizens.
Instead, the JNPSNC argued that lowering fuel costs to ₦500 per litre through an intervention fund would provide a trickle-down economic buffer for all Nigerians, lower transportation expenses, and stabilize the prices of essential commodities.
Backing these positions, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, highlighted that Nigeria, as a major oil-producing nation, possesses sufficient local refining capacity to protect citizens from international market shocks.
The NLC urged the Federal Government to sell crude oil in Naira to local refineries, expand national storage capacities, and implement direct economic interventions to curb the ongoing crisis, noting that government revenues have increased significantly from international spot market margins.
In addition to fuel price stabilization, the labour bodies demanded the immediate introduction of a wage award for all serving federal, state, and local government employees.
They proposed that the minimum salary for an officer on Grade Level 01, Step 1, should be set at ₦500,000 per month under an incoming 2027 salary template, alongside calls for harmonized wages across ministries, departments, and agencies.
Speaking on behalf of the NLC, Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, emphasized that workers’ wages have remained static while inflation continuously erodes their purchasing power.
Urging the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to immediately initiate discussions with labour leaders, Upah reiterated that urgent government action is critical to restore industrial peace and enable workers to afford basic necessities.
