Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has urged President Bola Tinubu to increase the national minimum wage, citing the rising cost of petrol, food, transportation and housing.
Atiku said the current N70,000 minimum wage had lost much of its purchasing power amid rising living costs, leaving Nigerian workers struggling to meet their basic needs.
He made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu.
The former vice-president called on the Federal Government to approve a substantial wage increase that reflects prevailing economic realities.
The Federal Government raised the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 in July 2024 following negotiations with organised labour. Tinubu had said the wage would be reviewed after three years.
However, Atiku argued that the increase had failed to protect workers from the effects of rising prices.
“At N1,400 a litre, the entire N70,000 monthly minimum wage buys just 50 litres of petrol. What does the worker take home to feed the children? What pays the rent? What gets that worker back to work on Monday?,” the statement read.
Comparing the purchasing power of the old and current minimum wages, Atiku said N30,000 could buy about 118 litres of petrol at the national average price of N254.06 per litre in April 2023, while N70,000 would purchase only about 50 litres at N1,400 per litre.
“The payslip has grown, but the fuel it can buy has more than halved. Tinubu has given workers a larger number and left them with a smaller life. That is hardship dressed up as a wage increase,” he added.
Atiku’s comments come amid renewed concerns over rising petrol prices and the escalating cost of living across the country.
Recent reports put petrol prices at about N1,400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja, with higher rates recorded in parts of northern Nigeria.
The ADC presidential candidate also criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy was implemented without adequate protection for working families.
“The government pulled away the floor, offered workers a flimsy umbrella and now applauds itself while the rain beats down on them,” Atiku said.
He explained that rising petrol prices had broader economic implications, as increased energy and transportation costs translated into higher prices for food and other essential commodities.
“Petrol
does not stay at the pump. Its price follows the farmer to market, enters the baker’s oven and appears in the fare a parent pays to take a child to school,” he stressed.Atiku further argued that Nigeria’s minimum wage compared unfavourably with those of some other African oil-producing countries when converted using the exchange rates cited in his statement.
He acknowledged, however, that differences in wage structures and living costs across countries should be considered, but maintained that the N70,000 minimum wage was insufficient under prevailing economic conditions.
He challenged Tinubu to clarify his position on another wage increase, insisting that workers should not be subjected to prolonged negotiations without a definite outcome.
“If he has no intention of raising workers’ pay, he should say so plainly and stop stringing the Nigeria Labour Congress and other labour leaders along. Nigerian workers deserve an answer, not another round of meetings that ends where it began,” he added.
Atiku promised that, if elected president in 2027, his administration would begin the process of increasing the minimum wage from its first day in office.
“I will begin the work of raising the wage floor from my first day in office,” Atiku assured.
He also pledged to introduce measures to reduce the cost of living, including support for domestic production, targeted social protection programmes and interventions in the petroleum sector.
The former vice-president proposed a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined locally and sold to Nigerians, subject to spending limits, public accounting and independent auditing.
“Government support must produce measurable relief at the pump,” he said.
Atiku also called for measures to stabilise the prices of essential commodities and energy, arguing that higher wages alone would not sufficiently ease the burden on households if living costs continued to rise.
The Tinubu administration has defended the N70,000 minimum wage, saying it was agreed upon after consultations with organised labour and other stakeholders. The government had described the new wage as an immediate relief measure while promising a review after three years.
Atiku, however, maintained that the purchasing power of Nigerian workers remained the central issue.
“Nigerians do not eat FAAC figures. A full treasury is no answer to an empty kitchen. The test of this government is whether the men and women who work all month can live on what they earn.
“A living wage must buy a living. It is not a privilege; it is a basic right.
“Tinubu has made life painfully expensive. I will make life affordable again,” he added.
