Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to increase the national minimum wage, arguing that the current N70,000 wage floor is no longer sufficient for workers amid rising living costs.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), also supported organised labour’s demand for a substantial increase in workers’ pay.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku blamed the removal of the petrol subsidy under the Tinubu administration for adding to the economic pressure on workers.
He said the policy had contributed to higher costs of petrol, transportation, food and other essential commodities without sufficient protection for working families.
“The government pulled away the floor, offered workers a flimsy umbrella and now applauds itself while the rain beats down on them,” Atiku said.
“Fuel, transport, food and rent have devoured their earnings. This is a callous way to govern people who work hard and ask only for the means to live.”
Atiku said the increase in the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 had failed to restore workers’ purchasing power.
“At ₦1,400 a litre, the entire ₦70,000 monthly minimum wage buys just 50 litres of petrol,” he said.
“What does the worker take home to feed the children? What pays the rent? What gets that worker back to work on Monday?”
He compared the purchasing power of the current minimum wage with the previous wage, saying the national average petrol price stood at N254.06 per litre in April 2023, when N30,000 could purchase roughly 118 litres.
Atiku said the N70,000 minimum wage currently buys about 50 litres at a petrol price of N1,400 per litre.
“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,” Atiku said.
Atiku compares Nigeria’s wage with other African countries
Atiku also compared Nigeria’s minimum wage with those of other African and oil-producing countries, arguing that the Nigerian wage floor compares unfavourably with those of Libya, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Using exchange rates from July 24, 2026, he said Libya’s monthly minimum wage was equivalent to approximately N213,000, compared with N245,000 in Algeria, N302,000 in Equatorial Guinea and N351,000 in Gabon.
He added that the minimum wage in Benin Republic was also higher than Nigeria’s when converted using the cited exchange rates.
Atiku acknowledged that wage structures and living costs vary across countries but maintained that such differences did not make N70,000 adequate for Nigerian workers facing current prices.
“The Nigerian worker is the engine of this country’s productive life, yet Tinubu expects that engine to run without fuel,” he said.
“A worker leaves home before dawn, gives the country a full day’s labour, then stands at a bus stop wondering whether the money left will pay the fare home or put food on the family table.”
Atiku said rising petrol prices affect more than transportation, as increased energy costs also contribute to higher prices of food and other essential goods.
“Petrol does not stay at the pump. Its price follows the farmer to market, enters the baker’s oven and appears in the fare a parent pays to take a child to school,” he said.
He called on Tinubu to agree to a substantial increase in the minimum wage to reflect the rising costs of food, transportation, rent and electricity.