The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has backed calls by civil servants for a new national minimum wage of ₦500,000 and a reduction in the price of petrol to ₦500 per litre to alleviate economic hardship.
The demand was outlined in a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu by Olowoyo Gbenga, National Secretary of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC — Trade Union Side).
In the letter, organized labor urged the Federal Government to immediately constitute a committee to negotiate a new national minimum wage ahead of January 2027.
Labor leaders described the demands as realistic, warning that recent fuel price hikes to ₦1,430 per litre and above in several regions have worsened the cost-of-living crisis.
The council gave the government until Wednesday, September 30, 2026, to address their demands, noting that rising hardship is causing widespread tension among workers.
The JNPSNC represents a broad coalition of public sector unions, including the Nigerian Civil Service Union, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, the Medical and Health Workers Union, and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives.
In its statement, the council criticized temporary food distribution programs, arguing that palliatives such as rice and cooking oil are unsustainable interventions that fail to reach the majority of citizens.
“Consequent upon the above, it is preferable that the Federal Government provides an intervention that will trickle down to all Nigerians by making fuel available at an affordable amount, as low as N500 (five hundred Naira),” they said.
Instead, the unions argued that lowering petrol prices to ₦500 per litre would provide broad economic relief by reducing transportation and food production costs across the country.
The council added that boosting workers’ remuneration and stabilizing fuel prices are essential steps toward restoring purchasing power, boosting productivity, and maintaining industrial peace.