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Civil servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), Trade Union Side, have asked President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene in the rising cost of living, including reducing petrol prices to ₦500 per litre and approving a wage award for public workers.
The workers made the demands in a letter addressed to the President at the State House, Abuja, warning that rising fuel prices and inflation had severely weakened workers’ purchasing power.
The council also called for an upward review of salaries and allowances across the public service and the immediate constitution of a committee to negotiate a new National Minimum Wage ahead of January 2027.
The workers gave the Federal Government until September 30, 2026, to act on their demands, saying the worsening economic situation was creating tension among workers and Nigerians.
According to the JNPSNC, petrol prices of ₦1,430 per litre and above in some locations had increased the cost of transportation, food and other essential goods.
The council argued that palliatives such as food items were not a sustainable response to the economic hardship, urging the government to implement measures that would have broader effects across the economy.
It proposed a fuel intervention fund to help stabilise petrol prices and reduce the pump price to ₦500 per litre, arguing that such a measure would ease pressure on households and businesses.
The workers also endorsed proposals attributed to Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero, including the sale of crude oil in naira to local refineries, expansion of national storage capacity and measures to strengthen domestic refining.
On wages, the JNPSNC demanded an immediate wage award for workers at the federal, state and local government levels, alongside an upward review of salaries and allowances.
It said the wage award should serve as an interim measure ahead of a new National Minimum Wage expected to take effect in January 2027.
The council proposed a minimum monthly salary of ₦500,000 for an officer on Grade Level 01, Step 1 under the proposed 2027 salary structure.
It also called for harmonised wages across Ministries, Departments and Agencies, periodic salary adjustments linked to inflation, subsidised transportation and affordable housing for public servants.
The council urged President Tinubu to direct the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to commence discussions with the NLC, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, JNPSNC and other relevant stakeholders on the proposed wage adjustments.
The workers said rising inflation, fuel prices, transportation costs and the increasing cost of food, housing, healthcare and education had eroded the value of their salaries and affected morale and productivity.
They expressed hope that the President would address their concerns in his Independence Day broadcast, saying urgent action was needed to ease the hardship facing workers and their dependants.
