Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called for an immediate increase in Nigeria’s minimum wage, saying the current wage is inadequate to cope with rising costs of living.
Atiku, who spoke through the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, on Saturday, also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy, which he said had worsened the financial pressure on Nigerian workers.
According to him, the increase in the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 has not translated into improved purchasing power for workers because of increases in the prices of fuel, transportation, food, rent and other essentials.
Atiku argued that while N30,000 could buy about 118 litres of petrol when the national average pump price was N254.06 per litre in April 2023, the current N70,000 wage would purchase only about 50 litres at a pump price of N1,400 per litre.
He said, “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.”
The former Vice President also compared Nigeria’s minimum wage with those of some African oil-producing countries, including Libya, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, arguing that Nigerian workers were receiving relatively low wages amid increasing living costs.
He maintained that the impact of high fuel prices extended beyond transportation, saying the cost was reflected in the prices of agricultural produce, manufactured goods, school transportation and other essential services.
Atiku urged the Federal Government to negotiate a substantial upward review of the minimum wage, saying workers should not be left to bear the burden of economic reforms without corresponding measures to cushion their impact.
“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 said.
The ADC presidential candidate also promised to pursue policies aimed at raising wages, reducing living costs and supporting domestic production if elected president, including a targeted subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians.
He said such interventions would be subject to spending limits, public accounting and independent audits, adding that government support should produce measurable relief for citizens.
Atiku said, “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.”
