The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and civil servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) have demanded a new national minimum wage of N500,000 and a reduction in the petrol pump price to N500 per litre.

In a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu, JNPSNC National Secretary Olowoyo Gbenga warned that the soaring cost of living has made life unbearable for workers and their dependents. The unions issued a September 30, 2026 deadline for the Federal Government to address their demands, citing mounting industrial tension.

The labour coalition argued that the recent surge in petrol prices to over N1,430 per litre has triggered a severe economic multiplier effect, rendering palliative measures like food distribution ineffective and unsustainable.

“The provision of palliatives… is as good as weaponising Nigerians with poverty because it is a pyrrhic intervention which is unsustainable,” the council stated, calling instead for broad-based market interventions that lower energy costs for all citizens.

To achieve lower fuel costs, the unions urged the government to establish an oil sector intervention fund and supply crude oil in Naira to domestic refineries. They also endorsed NLC President Joe Ajaero’s position that local refiners should not have to import crude.

On remuneration, the JNPSNC called for an immediate wage award for federal, state, and local government workers ahead of a comprehensive new minimum wage template slated for January 2027. The NLC backed these demands, describing them as realistic and legitimate, and urged the government to direct the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to commence negotiations immediately.