| Insist on N500 fuel price

Nigerian workers have commenced mobilisation for a fresh review of the national minimum wage, with the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) demanding a new minimum wage benchmark of N500,000.

The council is also calling on the Federal Government to reduce the pump price of petrol to N500 per litre and introduce an immediate wage award for workers pending the conclusion of negotiations on a new minimum wage.

The demands followed a recent letter by the JNPSNC trade union side to President Bola Tinubu, in which the council called for urgent measures to address the worsening cost-of-living crisis confronting workers and other Nigerians.

Among the demands are the stabilisation of petrol prices at N500 per litre, an immediate wage award for workers at the federal, state and local government levels, an upward review of salaries and allowances, and the immediate constitution of a committee to negotiate a new national minimum wage ahead of January 2027.

The council also gave the Federal Government until September 30, 2026, to act on the demands, warning that the prevailing hardship was creating tension among workers and the wider population.

Speaking exclusively with LEADERSHIP, the national secretary of the JNPSNC, Olowoyo Gbenga, said the proposed N500,000 was the council’s opening position for negotiations on a new wage law.

He said the council wanted the process concluded before the end of 2026 to allow implementation from January 2027.

Gbenga said the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024 had failed to adequately cushion workers against rising inflation, transport costs, food prices and other living expenses.

He therefore called for the immediate constitution of a tripartite committee comprising labour, employers and government representatives to commence negotiations.

According to him, the N500,000 proposal should not be interpreted as a fixed figure, but as the starting point for negotiations that would follow the legislative process used to arrive at the current minimum wage.

He said the council wanted the process concluded early enough to avoid a repeat of the delay that characterised the implementation of the 2024 minimum wage law, which took effect in July rather than at the beginning of the year.

“We have started mobilising now. With this letter we have issued, and with the deadline we have set for Mr President, the mobilisation has started.

“What we are saying is that when they removed the fuel subsidy, it was N500. What we are saying is that if the government wants to reduce the oil price to N500, they know what to do.

“Our position, if he chooses to invite leaders for a meeting, is that something will be done to bring down the price of fuel from N1,450 to N500. Something will be done. And that is what will be done.

“The wage award will serve as an interim measure between now and the enactment of the minimum wage. Government should bring up wage award,” he said.

The labour leader also linked the wage demand to the rising cost of petrol, insisting that the government should urgently establish a fuel intervention fund to reduce the pump price to N500 per litre.

He said petrol currently sold for between N1,430 and N2,000 per litre in different locations, adding that the high cost had significantly increased transportation and business expenses.

Gbenga argued that increasing the minimum wage alone would not sufficiently address the economic pressure on workers and their dependants without a corresponding reduction in transportation and other living costs.

He said the council had written to President Tinubu and commenced mobilisation to press for concrete measures to ease the hardship.

Gbenga said the President’s October 1 Independence Day address could provide an opportunity for the government to announce relief measures for Nigerians.

The council also called for a wage award as an interim measure pending the negotiation and implementation of a new minimum wage.

Gbenga stated that workers needed immediate relief while negotiations, legislation and implementation of a new wage regime were being concluded.

The JNPSNC secretary further demanded improved welfare for public servants, including affordable housing, career progression and better working conditions.

He also urged the government to address outstanding allowances for agricultural officers, saying an agreement reached by the National Council on Establishment had yet to be fully implemented.

On the issue of petrol subsidy, Gbenga said labour was not opposed to government measures aimed at reducing the burden on Nigerians.

He said the issue should be approached from the perspective of affordable energy rather than terminology, adding that the government could work with local refineries, including the Dangote Refinery and modular refineries, to reduce dependence on expensive imported petroleum products.

He said, “People are suffering, people are having it bad. They couldn’t manage the situation now. Students have just resumed classes, workers are going to work, and transportation costs are high. There is nothing that is comfortable for Nigerians as of today.

“If the government were to reduce fuel prices today by introducing an intervention fund, it would reduce prices. Let them partner with stakeholders in the oil sector. They know how they can do it to bring all these prices down.

“The government should be alive to its responsibilities. They should be able to abide by agreements. They need to implement agreements because we have so many issues within the public service that are supposed to advance the system, but they have remained unattended.”

He said the council’s mobilisation was intended to press for action while giving the government an opportunity to address the demands through dialogue.