The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the federal government to urgently reduce petrol prices, roll out a nationwide wage award, and begin negotiations for a new national minimum wage. NLC President Joe Ajaero said Nigerian workers are caught in a deepening survival crisis, with inflation eroding wages and fuel costs driving up basic expenses.
NLC Challenges Government on Fuel Subsidy Savings
In an Independence Day statement issued via the NLC X handle @NLCHeadquarters on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Ajaero declared: "We stand at the crossroads of a full-scale survival crisis. The real value of wages has been devoured by structural inflation. Petrol now sells at ₦1,430 per litre or higher in major cities and far more in remote areas."
The NLC described the petrol price hike that began in May 2023 as a "systematic assault on the working class" and challenged the government to account for the funds freed up by the removal of the fuel subsidy. The statement read: "The government claimed subsidy removal would free up resources for infrastructure and social services. Three years later, petrol prices have multiplied several times over, yet the promised infrastructure and social services remain mirages. Where exactly did the subsidy savings go? Nigerians deserve an answer, and they deserve it now."
The union also criticised Nigeria's continued dependence on imported refined petroleum despite the country being Africa's largest crude oil producer, arguing that this exposed workers to swings in global oil prices. It said reducing transport costs was essential to any meaningful effort to ease the economic burden on ordinary Nigerians.
Wage Demands and Tax Relief Accusations
On wages, the NLC said the current ₦70,000 minimum wage had already lost much of its value to inflation before it was even implemented. The union demanded that a tripartite committee be set up immediately to agree on a new wage standard for 2027 before the year ends. It also accused the government of failing to implement tax relief measures agreed in an October 2023 Memorandum of Understanding signed with labour.
NLC Raises Alarm Over Insecurity and 2027 Politics
The labour centre also flagged rising violence as a threat to economic recovery, citing figures showing that nearly 2,000 Nigerians died from violence in the first quarter of 2026 alone. It said farmers, teachers, and doctors in some parts of the country could no longer carry out their work safely. The NLC argued that poverty and inequality were root causes of insecurity and warned that neither could be solved in isolation.
With the 2027 election campaign season getting under way, the NLC cautioned politicians against voter intimidation, electoral manipulation, and the use of divisive ethnic or religious language. The union said it would publish its Workers' Charter at the appropriate time to indicate which policies and candidates it judged worthy of workers' support, while stressing that individual workers retained the right to make their own political choices.
"The Nigeria Labour Congress will always stand on the side of workers, fighting to the end for decent wages, safe workplaces, and a life of dignity," Ajaero said.
Workers Set for Strike as Ultimatum Expires
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that eight public sector unions under the Joint Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) set a September 30, 2026, deadline for the federal government to act on fuel prices and wages. The unions threatened a three-day warning strike from October 2, 2026, if President Bola Tinubu's Independence Day speech ignored their demands. JNPSNC is demanding a petrol price cut to ₦500 per litre, an immediate wage award, and a new minimum wage negotiation committee.
