Public Workers Give FG September 30 Ultimatum Over Hardship

Public sector workers have given the federal government until September 30, 2026, to address the worsening economic hardship affecting workers and their dependants nationwide.

The workers, under the auspices of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), Trade Union Side, demanded the reduction and stabilisation of the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, at N500 per litre.

They made the demands in a letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, warning that the worsening hardship was creating palpable tension among workers and Nigerians and could lead to an undesirable situation.

The Council also demanded a N500,000 minimum wage, immediate approval of a wage award and allowances across the public service, and the urgent commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage expected to take effect in January 2027.

The JNPSNC said the recent increase in petrol prices to N1,430 per litre and above in some locations had further deepened the cost-of-living crisis.

It said the removal of fuel subsidy three years ago had triggered an astronomical increase in petrol prices, with multiplier effects on transportation, food, housing, healthcare, education and other essential services.

The council argued that palliatives such as rice, noodles, vegetable oil and garri were not sustainable solutions to the economic crisis.

“It has dawned on Nigerian workers that the provision of palliatives such as bags of rice, noodles, vegetable oil, garri, among other edibles, is as good as weaponising Nigerians with poverty because it is a pyrrhic intervention which is unsustainable, inaccessible to the majority of Nigeria’s population and also limited to political cronies,” it stated.

The workers urged the federal government to establish an intervention fund for stakeholders in the oil sector to stabilise petrol prices and eventually reduce the pump price to N500 per litre.
They added that the government could use another description for the intervention if the term “fuel subsidy” was considered unacceptable.

The JNPSNC proposed a minimum monthly salary of N500,000 for an officer on Grade Level 01, Step 1, under a new 2027 salary structure.
It also called for:
Immediate approval of a wage award and allowances across the public service.

The prompt constitution of a committee to negotiate a new national minimum wage.
Harmonised wages across ministries, departments and agencies.

Periodic salary and allowance adjustments linked to inflation.
Subsidised transportation and affordable housing for civil servants.

The review of wages at the state and local government levels.
The council said rising inflation, fuel prices, transportation costs and the increasing cost of food, housing, healthcare and education had eroded the real value of workers’ salaries.

“Many workers are now struggling to meet basic financial obligations, which has inevitably affected the morale, motivation, and overall productivity within the Public Service,” it stated.

The workers urged President Tinubu to direct the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to begin discussions with the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, JNPSNC and other relevant stakeholders.
They expressed the hope that the president’s Independence Day broadcast would address their concerns.

The NLC expressed support for the Council’s demands and urged the federal government to intervene urgently to reduce the pressure on workers and other Nigerians.

NLC spokesman Benson Upah said the surge in petrol prices had affected transportation, rent, school fees and other essential expenses while workers’ salaries remained largely static.

“So, the government should intervene as quickly as possible. Our situation is such that once there is an increase in the pump price of petroleum products, everything else follows,” he said.

Upah also called for the sale of crude oil to local refineries in naira, saying the measure could help reduce the cost of refined petroleum products.

The NLC had last week called for emergency palliatives and wage awards for workers, while urging the government to cushion the effect of rising petrol prices.
Identity of JNPSNC disputed
Upah identified the JNPSNC as a body known to the NLC and said the federal government was aware of its existence.

“The NLC is aware of their existence. It is a body that is negotiating with us on allowances for workers in the public sector. I mean, government knows about them,” he said.

However, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Education headquarters, disowned the council.

Its chairman, Sampson Chigozie Ngadi, said in a message that the association did not know the group.

Efforts to confirm from the Presidency whether it had received the letter were unsuccessful as of the time of filing the report.

Messages sent to the presidential spokesman, including through WhatsApp, were not answered.

A political analyst, Professor Atah Pine of the Department of Political Science, Benue State University, said the federal government could not simply order petrol prices down to N500 under the current market-based regime.

He said subsidy removal meant that petrol prices were expected to respond to market forces, adding that a government-imposed price would conflict with the policy framework adopted after subsidy removal.

Pine, however, said the government could influence workers’ wages through existing institutional mechanisms.

He recommended increased investment in modular and mega refineries, arguing that greater domestic refining capacity would increase supply and eventually lower prices.

Country Director of Accountability Nigeria, Lab Friday Odeh, described the N500 petrol demand as a call for the return of fuel subsidy, regardless of the terminology used.

Odeh estimated that reinstating a subsidy at the proposed level could cost the federation between N4tn and N6tn annually, potentially increasing borrowing or reducing funds available for capital projects.

He, however, said the workers had a stronger argument on wages, noting that the proposed N500,000 minimum salary reflected the erosion of workers’ purchasing power.

He also supported the sale of crude oil in naira to local refineries and the expansion of national storage capacity.