Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to increase Nigeria’s N70,000 national minimum wage, arguing that rising living costs have reduced workers’ purchasing power.
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Atiku made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu.
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He argued that the current minimum wage was no longer sufficient to meet the basic needs of workers because of increases in the prices of petrol, food, transportation and housing.
The Federal Government increased the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 in July 2024 following negotiations with organised labour. Tinubu had also said the wage would be reviewed after three years.
Atiku, however, said the increase had not adequately protected workers from the effects of inflation and higher living costs.
He compared the purchasing power of the previous and current minimum wages using petrol prices. According to him, N30,000 could buy about 118 litres of petrol when the national average price stood at N254.06 per litre in April 2023, while N70,000 at N1,400 per litre would purchase about 50 litres.
He argued that the increase in the nominal wage had therefore been accompanied by a decline in what workers could afford with their earnings.
Atiku also criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy, saying the policy had contributed to higher transportation and production costs.
He argued that increases in petrol prices affect several areas of the economy because transportation and energy costs influence the prices of food, manufactured goods and other essential services.
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The ADC candidate further compared Nigeria’s minimum wage with wage levels in some other African oil-producing countries, while acknowledging that differences in economic conditions and living costs make direct comparisons difficult.
Atiku called on the Federal Government to state clearly whether it intends to review the minimum wage before the next scheduled review.
He said workers should not be left in prolonged negotiations without a clear position from the government.
The former vice president also promised that if elected in 2027, his administration would begin work on increasing the minimum wage from its first day in office.
He said his proposed economic measures would also include support for domestic production, targeted social protection and interventions in the petroleum sector.
Atiku proposed a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. He said such support would be subject to spending limits, public accounting and independent auditing.
He also called for measures to stabilise the prices of essential goods and energy, arguing that higher wages alone would not sufficiently address the pressure on households if the cost of living continued to rise.
The Tinubu administration has previously defended the N70,000 minimum wage as the outcome of negotiations with organised labour and other stakeholders. The government also said at the time that the wage was intended to provide relief to workers, with a review expected after three years.
Atiku maintained that workers’ purchasing power should remain central to discussions about wages and economic policy.
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