Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently increase Nigeria’s N70,000 minimum wage, saying that rising fuel, transport, food and housing costs have eroded workers’ purchasing power.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 election, made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday by Phrank Shaibu, director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.
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The former vice president said the current minimum wage was no longer sufficient to meet the basic needs of Nigerian workers, particularly amid renewed increases in petrol prices..
Nigeria’s minimum wage was increased from N30,000 to N70,000 in 2024 following negotiations between the federal government, state governments, employers and organised labour. The new wage was signed into law by Mr Tinubu in July 2024.
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However, Atiku argued that the increase had been overtaken by the rising cost of living.
“Tinubu asked Nigerians to make sacrifices and treated the suffering that followed as an afterthought. Those with the least have been made to carry the heaviest load. That is the cruel arithmetic of this cost-of-living crisis.”
He compared the purchasing power of the old and new wages using petrol prices, saying N30,000 could buy about 118 litres of petrol when the national average price was N254.06 per litre in April 2023.
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At the current price of about N1,400 per litre, he said, N70,000 can buy only 50 litres.
“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,” he said.
Petrol prices have risen sharply in recent weeks amid higher international crude oil prices. In Abuja, some filling stations were selling petrol for between N1,400 and N1,450 per litre in September, according to a Premium Times survey.
Atiku blamed the pressure on households partly on the removal of petrol subsidy by the Tinubu administration, arguing that the policy was implemented without adequate protection for workers.
“The government pulled away the floor, offered workers a flimsy umbrella and now applauds itself while the rain beats down on them.
“Fuel, transport, food and rent have devoured their earnings. This is a callous way to govern people who work hard and ask only for the means to live,” he said
He said the impact of petrol prices extended beyond motorists because higher energy costs affect transportation, food production and other goods and services.
“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 said.
Atiku promises wage increase
Atiku challenged Mr Tinubu to agree to a “substantial” increase in the minimum wage based on the current cost of food, transport, rent and electricity.
He said workers should not be made to wait through prolonged negotiations while their purchasing power continues to decline.
“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,” he said.
The former vice president also promised to begin work on increasing the wage floor if elected president in 2027.
“From May 2027, my policies will protect the people: support Nigerian production, deliver relief at the pump and provide targeted help to those hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis,” he said.
Atiku also proposed what he described as a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerian consumers.
He said the intervention would be subject to a spending cap, public accounting and independent auditing, with the objective of ensuring that government support translates into lower petrol prices.
The proposal comes amid a renewed debate over how to cushion Nigerians from rising fuel prices.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council has challenged Atiku to provide details of the legal, fiscal and operational framework for the proposed subsidy, including its cost, funding source and safeguards against diversion and fraud.
The council has also questioned how the proposal would operate under the Petroleum Industry Act, which provides for petroleum prices to be determined by market conditions.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise has similarly warned against a return to a universal petrol subsidy, arguing that such an arrangement could place significant pressure on public finances. It instead called for targeted relief measures to cushion consumers from higher energy costs.
Atiku, however, maintained that wage increases must be accompanied by measures to reduce the cost of essential goods and services.
READ ALSO: Atiku seeks to amend suit challenging Tinubu’s 2027 eligibility
He said increasing salaries without addressing the underlying cost pressures would offer only temporary relief.
“A living wage must buy a living. It is not a privilege; it is a basic right,” he said.
The former vice president said his proposed policies would combine higher wages with targeted social protection, support for domestic production and measures to stabilise the cost of essential goods and energy.
His demand comes as organised labour and sections of the workforce have also argued that the N70,000 minimum wage has lost significant purchasing power.
In September 2025, the Nigeria Labour Congress and federal workers called for a review of the wage, citing rising food, transport, housing and other living costs. Some states have since approved wages above the national minimum, including Imo, which raised its minimum wage to N104,000.
The National Minimum Wage Act provides for a review of the national minimum wage every three years, meaning the next statutory review falls within the period of the 2027 general election campaign.
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