NLC demands petrol price cut and new wage talks amid survival warning

The Nigeria Labour Congress has demanded an immediate reduction in petrol prices, a nationwide wage award and the start of negotiations on a new national minimum wage, warning that Nigerian workers face a worsening survival crisis. NLC President Joe Ajaero made the demands in an Independence Day statement issued on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. He said structural inflation had eroded the real value of wages while higher petrol and transport costs had raised the prices of food, school fees, rent and other necessities.

The union said petrol was selling for ₦1,430 per litre or more in major cities and at higher prices in remote areas. It described the fuel-price increase that followed the removal of the subsidy in May 2023 as a severe burden on workers and questioned how the resulting government savings had been used. The NLC said cutting transport costs was essential because they transmit inflation through the wider economy.

It also called for an immediate wage award for federal, state and local-government workers, saying the measure would be an emergency response to declining incomes rather than charity. The union further urged the government to implement tax relief agreed during an October 2023 dialogue with labour. It demanded a tripartite committee to create and legislate a new wage standard for 2027 before the end of the year, arguing that inflation had already undermined the current ₦70,000 minimum wage.

The NLC also called for lower governance costs, greater transparency, stronger roads and social infrastructure, and improvements in hospitals and schools. It said young people needed economic opportunities and hope. On security, the union said violence had worsened economic conditions and claimed nearly 2,000 people were killed in the first quarter of 2026.

It linked insecurity to poverty, unemployment and inequality. With political campaigns approaching, the NLC warned against election manipulation, voter intimidation and divisive rhetoric. It said it would later use its Workers’ Charter to identify policies and candidates deserving working-class support, while affirming workers’ right to independent political choices.