NLC Calls for New Wage Talks, Lower Fuel Prices on Nigeria’s @66th Independence Day.
NLC Calls for New Wage Talks, Lower Fuel Prices on Nigeria’s @66th Independence Day.
The Nigeria Labour Congress has called for an immediate cut in petrol prices, a nationwide wage award and urgent negotiations on a new national minimum wage, saying soaring living costs have sharply reduced workers’ purchasing power.
In an Independence Day statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, the NLC said Nigerians were struggling with rising costs of transport, food, rent and education. It blamed much of the pressure on petrol price increases after the subsidy was removed in 2023.
Petrol now sells for about N1,430 per litre or more in major cities, the union said, with prices higher in remote areas. The resulting transport costs, it argued, push up the price of nearly every essential item while wages remain inadequate.
The NLC urged the Federal Government to curb the impact of fuel prices across the economy, saying efforts to ease hardship would fail unless the link between petrol costs, transport and prices of goods was addressed.
It also called for an immediate wage award for federal, state and local government employees, describing it as an emergency measure to protect real incomes, not charity. A 2023 agreement between the government and organised labour provided for a N35,000 monthly award for federal workers and called for similar relief to be considered for state and local government employees.
The union accused the government of failing to fully deliver tax relief measures agreed with labour in October 2023. It also demanded that a tripartite committee be set up immediately to negotiate a new minimum wage for 2027, with legislation completed before the end of the year.
The current N70,000 minimum wage, approved by President Bola Tinubu in July 2024, had been eroded by inflation even before implementation, the NLC said. Tinubu had said the wage would be reviewed after three years.
The union further called for lower government spending, transparency in public finances and greater investment in roads, hospitals, schools and other public services. It questioned how savings from subsidy removal had been used, arguing that promised improvements in infrastructure and social services had yet to materialise.
Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined fuel was another concern. The NLC urged investment in domestic refining, alongside better public education, healthcare and road networks to reduce household pressures and support productivity.
The statement also highlighted youth unemployment, migration and insecurity, saying these problems were connected to poverty and inequality. The government, it said, must create meaningful opportunities for young people rather than simply urging them to remain hopeful.
Ahead of the 2027 elections, the NLC said workers should be free to make independent political choices and warned against intimidation, electoral manipulation and divisive rhetoric. It said its Workers’ Charter would set out the policies and candidates it supports, while insisting that workers’ organisations must not be treated as electoral tools.
The union said it would continue to campaign for decent wages, safe workplaces, accountability and workers’ welfare.
