Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently increase Nigeria’s minimum wage, arguing that rising fuel, food, transport and housing costs have eroded workers’ purchasing power.
Atiku made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu. His position has also been reported by multiple Nigerian news outlets.
Atiku said the increase in the national minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 had failed to translate into improved living conditions for workers amid rising costs.
“At ₦1,400 a litre, the entire ₦70,000 monthly minimum wage buys just 50 litres of petrol. What does the worker take home to feed the children? What pays the rent? What gets that worker back to work on Monday?” he said.
He argued that the purchasing power of workers had declined despite the higher nominal wage.
“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.
Recent reports put petrol prices around ₦1,400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja, with some outlets charging up to about ₦1,450.
Atiku also criticised the removal of petrol subsidy, saying the resulting increase in living costs had placed additional pressure on working families.
“The government pulled away the floor, offered workers a flimsy umbrella and now applauds itself while the rain beats down on them,” he 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,” he added.
The ADC candidate said the impact of high petrol prices extended beyond transportation, affecting food production, businesses and household expenses.
“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,” Atiku said.
He urged the Federal Government to agree to what he described as a substantial review of the minimum wage to reflect the cost of food, transportation, rent and power.
“If he has no intention of raising workers’ pay, he should say so plainly and stop stringing the Nigeria Labour Congress and other labour leaders along,” he said.
“Nigerian workers deserve an answer, not another round of meetings that ends where it began. I will begin the work of raising the wage floor from my first day in office,” Atiku added.
He also compared Nigeria’s minimum wage with those of selected African countries, citing figures he said were based on exchange rates as of July 24, 2026. He put the equivalent monthly minimum wages at about ₦213,000 for Libya, ₦245,000 for Algeria, ₦302,000 for Equatorial Guinea and ₦351,000 for Gabon.
Atiku acknowledged that wage structures and living costs vary across countries but maintained that the differences did not make ₦70,000 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.
He further said, “You cannot work people to exhaustion, pay them into poverty and lecture them about productivity.”
Atiku said he would pursue higher wages and measures to reduce living costs if elected in 2027.
“From May 2027, my policies will protect the people: support Nigerian production, deliver relief at the pump and provide targeted help to those hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis,” he said.
He also proposed a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold domestically, subject to a spending cap, public accounting and independent auditing.
“Nigerians do not eat FAAC figures. A full treasury is no answer to an empty kitchen. The test of this government is whether the men and women who work all month can live on what they earn,” Atiku said.
“A living wage must buy a living. It is not a privilege; it is a basic right,” he added.