The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) yesterday defended its rejection of the federal government’s proposed N70,000 transport allowance for workers, insisting that its position reflects concerns over the failure of previous wage agreements to deliver relief to millions of Nigerian workers.

The TUC also dismissed suggestions that its disagreement with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the proposal signalled a breakdown in organised labour, warning the federal government against exploiting differences between the two labour centres.

The TUC leadership argued that the disagreement was about the best approach to securing improved workers’ welfare, rather than a dispute over whether Nigerian workers deserved better remuneration.

Speaking on the controversy at the 2026 Labour Conference in Abuja,TUC president-general, Comrade Festus Osifo   said the congress rejected the proposed arrangement because previous wage interventions had failed to reach many workers, particularly those employed by state governments.

According to him, the wage award negotiated in 2023 was not implemented by several states, while the federal government allegedly failed to pay workers in line with the agreement reached at the time.

Speaking on behalf of Osifo at the event, the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Bosun Olabiyi-Agoro, said the TUC was determined to avoid another arrangement that could leave workers without the promised benefits.

While Osifo maintained that the proposed intervention should be incorporated into salaries to ensure wider and more reliable implementation, NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, questioned the TUC’s opposition arguing that the congress had not participated in the negotiations that produced the arrangement.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief yesterday, Ajaero said the NLC had made it clear from the outset that it was negotiating independently of the TUC.

Ajaero described the TUC’s opposition as surprising.

“Why is TUC challenging what was gotten for the workers when we stated clearly that NLC was acting alone?,” Ajaero asked.

Responding to the controversy,TUC has maintained that its opposition stemmed from concerns about the effectiveness and reach of the arrangement.

The TUC insisted that the experience of workers who missed out on the 2023 wage award informed the congress’s decision to challenge the latest approach.

Osifo however, maintained that the disagreement did not prevent the NLC and TUC from reaching a common position, urging both congresses to strengthen their unity before engaging the government.

The TUC leader also cautioned the government against playing one labour centre against the other, stressing that an agreement reached with one organisation might not necessarily bind the other.

He said the government should not assume that the differences would weaken organised labour, adding that both congresses needed to resolve their disagreements internally and present a stronger front in negotiations.

He said, “Talking about the biggest news now in Nigeria, the issue of minimum wage, that has made it look like maybe NLC and TUC were having rift and I think firstly I want to tell all of us is that organised labour must organise ourselves.

It is important that we do that. We must organise ourselves before we now take it to those people that we are contending with. And government must also be very careful not to think they have anything to gain from playing divide and rule between NLC and TUC.

A man that has chosen to marry two wives must make sure that he plays fairly between the two. And I will say unequivocally that both NLC and TUC must make sure that we put ourselves together. And also, the government must know that any agreement reached with one may not actually be binding on the other”.

He added, “The position of TUC in this little matter, which is becoming very big now, is very clear. We felt that if we continue to do things the same way, we are most likely going to be getting the same results. The wage award that we entered into 2023, many workers did not get anything out of it today.

Many states did not put it into implementation. Even the federal government that implemented it didn’t pay according to what we agreed. And that was why we felt that, no, don’t let us go this way like this.

Let us drag these people to the point that it will be added to people’s salaries, even if there is a little bit delay, so that it will go and get across to everybody. We are always saying that injury to one is injury to all”.

He continued, “It is agreed by all parties today, whether NLC, TUC or even the government, that the state of workers in Nigeria is deplorable, that one is not bringing any form of disagreement.

All of us are on the same page, including the president of Nigeria, because he made it very clear in his statement that he believes that workers are not getting what they should be getting. So all of us are on the same page on that. The only little thing is how we now rectify that.

That is where we are having issues. And that is where NLC is looking at it this way, and I think TUC is trying to look at it in another way. But if you look at it now, many news reporters are much more interested in whether NLC and TUC are at range, instead of them being interested about the meat of the matter, which is workers’ welfare, and the approach that we are using to get it should not be something that will become the biggest thing”.