Organised labour is pressing the Federal Government over the rising cost of living, but the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are pushing different solutions.
The NLC wants the pump price of petrol cut to N668.30 per litre, the price when President Bola Tinubu signed the N70,000 minimum wage into law in July 2024. The TUC wants the Naira revalued to between N700 and N800 to the dollar, arguing that this alone would bring petrol down to about N600.
NLC’s ultimatum
The NLC announced its position on October 7, 2026, after a joint meeting of its National Executive Council and Central Working Committee at the Olaitan Oyerinde Hall, Labour House, Abuja.
In a communiqué signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, the Congress said it noted “with profound alarm the deepening misery inflicted on the Nigerian working class.” It said inflation continues to rise, the Naira remains weak, and wages have been rendered worthless.
It gave the Federal Government a two-week ultimatum from Friday, October 9, to:
- reduce petrol price to the level at which the current minimum wage was signed in 2024;
- begin renegotiation of a new national minimum wage;
- implement the February 5, 2026 Terms of Settlement with the Joint Health Workers Union (JOHESU), its affiliate; and
- implement the demands of the Joint Public Sector Negotiating Council.
Failure to act, it warned, would compel it to take remedial steps. The ultimatum expires on October 23, 2026.
The NLC said the minimum wage was fixed at N70,000 in mid-2024 when petrol sold for N668.30 per litre. Petrol now sells for above N1,400 in many cities, which, by its calculation, has eroded the wage’s purchasing power by more than 40 percent before food and transport costs are considered. Restoring the 2024 price, it argued, would only return workers to the original bargain.
The Congress also demanded tax relief and wage awards, insisting that government cannot keep asking workers to make sacrifices without offering relief.
TUC: fix the Naira first
The TUC says the root of the crisis is the exchange rate. Its President, Festus Osifo, made the case after the Congress’s NEC meeting last week.
“High exchange rate of Naira to a Dollar is central to rising cost of goods including the pump price of petrol,” he said.
Osifo acknowledged some improvement in the economy, including better macroeconomic indicators, some stability in inflation and a stronger Naira. He commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, but said an official rate of N1,300 to the dollar is still a failure.
“We still believe that Naira should be somewhere between seven to 800 Naira to $1. At 400 it was overvalued. At 1,300 it is undervalued,” he said, citing local and international think tanks.
The TUC’s reasoning is that Nigeria’s fuel pricing remains tied to import parity, even with the Dangote and Port Harcourt refineries running. A stronger Naira at N800 to the dollar would cut the import bill by nearly 40 percent, lower petrol to about N600, and ease the cost of drugs, school fees, spare parts and food imports.
The Congress had earlier asked government to channel part of the windfall from unbudgeted higher crude oil earnings into subsidising local refineries to lower product costs. Exchange rate has been central to its 15-point demand since 2024.
On wages, the TUC is taking a more measured approach. It expects formal minimum wage negotiations by February 2027, six months before the Minimum Wage Act expires, but wants immediate talks on allowances and wage awards. It has also backed the warning strike by the Joint National Council of federal workers, pledged to escalate if the issue is unresolved, and weighed in on the JOHESU health dispute. It also demanded punishment for those responsible for the deaths of about 30 minors reportedly in NSCDC custody in Niger State.
Two approaches, two costs
The difference between the unions is strategic as much as economic.
The NLC wants immediate, administrative relief: government directing NNPCL and marketers to cut prices, even if that means a subsidy or price modulation. It would be a quick win for workers, but at a fiscal cost.
The TUC wants a structural, market-based fix: monetary policy that lets the Naira reflect its true value and pulls down petrol prices and inflation. That would require CBN reforms, better dollar supply, higher oil output and stronger investor confidence.
Labour watchers say both positions have merit but are incomplete. A N800 Naira could push petrol below N600 without subsidy, but it is unclear whether the CBN can hold that rate without draining reserves. A forced cut to N668 would bring instant relief, but without foreign exchange reform, scarcity and queues could return.
The Federal Government, meanwhile, faces a difficult choice between holding to its policy of full subsidy removal and a floating Naira, or restoring subsidy and intervening to support the currency.
The pressure ahead
Both unions share a sense of urgency. The N70,000 minimum wage, hailed as a victory in 2024, now buys far less. Labour, relatively quiet in 2026, also appears to be sensing the approach of the 2027 elections, when government is more likely to make concessions.
The TUC has set no deadline, but its warning of escalation over the federal workers’ strike adds weight. If government ignores both, it risks joint action, with the NLC shutting down economic activity and the TUC crippling the oil sector through PENGASSAN, its affiliate, which Osifo also leads. That combination paralysed the country in 2012 and 2024.
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