The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has called on the Federal Government to review the national minimum wage and take immediate steps to ease the rising cost of living, warning that workers’ earnings no longer guarantee a decent standard of living.
NASU President, Dr Makolo Hassan, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja in his welcome address at the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, which runs from October 13 to 14, 2026.
Hassan said the ₦70,000 national minimum wage, though a hard-won victory, had been overtaken by economic realities. He pointed to higher petroleum pump prices and the soaring cost of food, transport, housing, electricity and healthcare, and described the current wage as “a slave wage” that can no longer sustain workers and their families.
He urged the government to begin a review of the minimum wage immediately and to institutionalise periodic wage reviews and cost-of-living adjustments to protect workers’ purchasing power from inflation.
The NASU president also insisted that economic reforms must translate into real improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians rather than deepen hardship and inequality. He said any improvement in headline inflation did not reflect what workers face in their homes, markets and workplaces.
Food insecurity
Hassan noted that food inflation stood at 19.57 per cent in July 2026, and said affordable food remained the union’s central national demand.
He called for sustained support for farmers, better security in farming communities, improved storage and transport infrastructure, and deliberate investment in domestic food production.
He also said the projection that nearly 35 million Nigerians could face acute food insecurity during the 2026 lean season should be treated as a national emergency.
Fuel, transport and electricity
On fuel, Hassan said the consequences of petrol pricing and subsidy removal remained severe, as every price increase flows quickly into fares, food prices and production costs. He said domestic refining must bring real, measurable relief to Nigerians and not just better statistics or higher margins for operators. He added that government must shield households and businesses from oil-price volatility and exchange-rate shocks.
He urged the government to expand affordable mass transit, including buses and rail, and to assess whether the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) programme and other intervention schemes are actually delivering relief to workers.
On electricity, he demanded affordable power for households and businesses, universal metering and an end to arbitrary estimated billing. He said workers should not pay higher tariffs without better supply, and should not be made to pay more “for darkness” under the service-based tariff regime and the updated 2026 Multi-Year Tariff Orders (MYTO).
Housing, jobs and social protection
The union also demanded affordable housing schemes, accessible mortgage facilities and protection against unreasonable rent increases.
On employment, Hassan raised concern over youth unemployment, underemployment, casualisation and the declining productive capacity of the economy. He called for a national employment strategy built on technical and vocational education, apprenticeships and industrial skills development, and for action on factory closures and the high cost of electricity, transport, raw materials and credit.
He further called for improved healthcare, adequate funding for public education, prompt payment of pensions and gratuities, and stronger social protection for vulnerable Nigerians.
Transparency and industrial relations
Hassan urged greater transparency in the management of public resources, saying increased revenues to states and local governments should result in timely salary payments, better services and improved infrastructure.
He reaffirmed NASU’s commitment to collective bargaining, freedom of association and workers’ rights, and warned employers against intimidation, victimisation and tactics meant to weaken unions.
Insecurity and 2027
Hassan also urged the government to tackle insecurity, noting that banditry, kidnapping and insurgency, especially attacks on farmers and rural communities, threaten lives, food supply and national productivity.
With the 2027 political transition approaching, he urged organised labour to place workers’ welfare at the centre of national discourse. He said candidates and political programmes should be judged on their commitments to living wages, decent jobs, security, industrialisation and quality public services.
He urged NEC members to remain united and committed to advancing the interests of the union’s members, stressing that sustained engagement and collective action were critical to achieving better working conditions and economic justice.
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