Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to substantially increase Nigeria’s ₦70,000 national minimum wage, arguing that rising petrol prices and other living costs have eroded much of the purchasing power workers gained from the 2024 wage adjustment.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday, September 27, through Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.
His intervention comes amid renewed pressure from organised labour for another review of workers’ earnings and a sharp increase in petrol prices, which reached about ₦1,400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja during September.
Atiku argued that the relevant measure of workers’ welfare is not simply how much their salaries have increased in nominal terms, but what those salaries can actually purchase.
Atiku Uses Petrol to Illustrate Declining Purchasing Power
At the centre of Atiku’s argument was a comparison between the previous ₦30,000 minimum wage and the current ₦70,000 wage.
He said that when Nigeria’s average petrol price was approximately ₦254.06 per litre in April 2023, a ₦30,000 minimum wage was equivalent to about 118 litres of petrol.
At ₦1,400 per litre, however, the entire ₦70,000 minimum wage would purchase only 50 litres.
The arithmetic behind the second calculation is straightforward: ₦70,000 divided by ₦1,400 equals 50 litres.
Recent independent reporting also supports the petrol price used in Atiku’s example. Reuters reported in September that petrol was selling for approximately ₦1,400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja, while some filling stations in northern Nigeria were charging as much as ₦1,500.
Atiku used the comparison to argue that although the minimum wage has more than doubled in naira terms, workers have not necessarily become better off when their purchasing power is considered.
Minimum Wage Rose From ₦30,000 to ₦70,000
Nigeria’s minimum wage was increased from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 in 2024 following negotiations involving the Federal Government, organised labour and employers.
President Tinubu announced agreement on the ₦70,000 figure in July 2024 after negotiations with the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress.
The government also agreed to shorten the minimum-wage review cycle from five years to three years.
At the time, Tinubu said the decision was intended to respond to economic challenges facing Nigerian workers.
The latest criticism therefore comes before the formal completion of that three-year cycle.
However, labour organisations have argued that economic conditions have deteriorated sufficiently to justify fresh negotiations.
Labour Has Also Called for Wage Review
Atiku is not alone in arguing that ₦70,000 has lost significant purchasing power.
The Nigeria Labour Congress has been preparing for another campaign for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
NLC President Joe Ajaero has argued that inflation, petrol prices, food costs and other economic variables should be considered when determining what workers earn.
In August, labour representatives at the Nigeria Rights of Workers Summit in Kebbi State also called for an urgent review, saying ₦70,000 was no longer sufficient under prevailing economic conditions.
Research has provided additional context.
A BudgIT report on the cost of a healthy diet found significant pressure on low-income workers’ budgets. In Ekiti State, for example, the report estimated that an adult would have needed approximately ₦62,739 in March to meet the minimum cost of a healthy diet, leaving just over ₦7,000 from a ₦70,000 wage for housing, transportation, healthcare, electricity and other expenses.
Such figures do not mean every minimum-wage worker faces identical expenses, but they illustrate the pressure that essential costs can place on lower-income households.
Petrol Prices Add New Pressure
The latest debate has intensified following another rise in petrol prices.
Reuters reported that petrol climbed to record levels in September as higher international crude prices associated with Middle East tensions affected domestic fuel costs.
Petrol was selling at approximately ₦1,400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja, compared with around ₦1,200 a month earlier, while diesel exceeded ₦2,000 per litre.
The effect extends beyond motorists.
Higher fuel prices can increase transportation and distribution expenses, potentially affecting the prices consumers ultimately pay for food and other products.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.39% in August from 15.43% in July, according to figures cited by Reuters, while food inflation remained higher at 19.57%.
Those figures provide important context to Atiku’s political argument, although they do not by themselves determine what Nigeria’s appropriate minimum wage should be.
Atiku Promises Wage Action if Elected
Atiku also turned the minimum-wage debate into a campaign issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He said that if elected, he would begin working to raise the wage floor from his first day in office.
He also proposed measures aimed at lowering living costs alongside higher wages.
Among the proposals outlined in his statement was a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined domestically and sold to Nigerian consumers.
Atiku said such support should operate under spending limits, transparent accounting and independent auditing.
The proposal is a campaign policy position and has not been implemented, meaning its fiscal cost and effect on pump prices cannot yet be independently assessed.
Atiku also argued that simply raising salaries would provide limited relief if the costs of fuel, food, transportation and other essentials continued increasing.
Tinubu Administration Has Defended Its Wage Approach
The Federal Government’s position during the 2024 negotiations was that wages needed to balance workers’ welfare with broader economic realities and employers’ ability to pay.
Tinubu eventually increased the government’s proposed wage from ₦62,000 to ₦70,000 following consultations with labour representatives.
He also agreed that the wage should be reviewed after three years rather than the previous five-year cycle.
At the time, the Presidency said measures including compressed natural gas transportation were intended to help reduce transportation costs.
The current debate therefore involves two related but distinct questions: whether the existing wage remains adequate under present economic conditions, and which combination of wage increases, inflation control, transport policies and other interventions would most effectively improve workers’ real incomes.
Cross-Country Wage Comparisons Require Context
Atiku also compared Nigeria’s minimum wage with those of several African and oil-producing countries.
Using exchange rates from July 24, 2026, his statement placed the naira equivalent of Libya’s monthly minimum wage at approximately ₦213,000, Algeria’s at ₦245,000, Equatorial Guinea’s at ₦302,000 and Gabon’s at ₦351,000.
He also said Benin Republic’s minimum wage exceeded Nigeria’s when converted into naira.
However, direct currency conversion does not provide a complete comparison of workers’ living standards.
Taxes, exchange rates, purchasing power, housing costs, government subsidies, social services and differences in national wage systems can substantially affect what a salary actually provides in different countries.
Atiku acknowledged that wage structures and living costs differ between countries but maintained that Nigeria’s current wage was inadequate under domestic conditions.
Minimum Wage Set to Remain Major Economic Issue
The debate is likely to remain prominent as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general election.
Atiku has now made higher wages and reducing living costs part of his campaign argument against the Tinubu administration, while organised labour has independently been pushing for another wage review.
The latest petrol-price increase has strengthened concerns about purchasing power because transportation and energy costs affect households directly and can also feed into other prices.
What can be independently established is that petrol has recently traded around the ₦1,400 level used in Atiku’s calculation, the ₦70,000 wage can indeed purchase only 50 litres at that price, and organised labour has separately argued that the current minimum wage is inadequate.
Whether another substantial wage increase is the appropriate response—and what level would be sustainable for government and private employers—remains part of the economic and political debate over how Nigeria should respond to the cost-of-living pressures facing workers.
