Federal government workers across the country have cried out over worsening economic hardship, insisting that petrol price must drop to ₦200 per litre as the current cost of living becomes unbearable and pushes many civil servants to the brink.
The workers, under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, said the removal of fuel subsidy and the soaring price of petrol have eroded their salaries and made survival difficult, while demanding an upward review of salaries and allowances and the immediate constitution of a tripartite committee to negotiate a new minimum wage ahead of 2027.
Their lamentation came after a three-day warning strike held from October 2 to 4. The industrial action was declared after demands sent to President Bola Tinubu on September 21 were not addressed.
Speaking on Arise News on Monday, the National Secretary of the council, Gbenga Olowoyo, said workers embarked on the warning action to draw attention to their pains.
“The essence of that strike because it was a warning strike was to create awareness and provoke reactions from certain quarters, and it achieved its purpose. Even reports now show that the strike had 65% compliance, across all states of the federation,” he said.
Olowoyo said civil servants were disheartened that the President’s Independence Day speech failed to address their concerns directly, a situation he said deepened frustration among workers.
He explained that what workers are asking for is relief from the crushing cost of fuel and a realistic improvement in their pay.
According to him, the council is demanding a drastic cut in petrol price to ₦200 per litre, an upward review of salaries and allowances, and immediate constitution of a tripartite committee to negotiate a new minimum wage ahead of 2027.
He noted that the government should provide palliatives to cushion the fuel price shock while the minimum wage talks go on, adding that the final wage figure should be agreed upon through a tripartite process that reflects inflation and the current cost of living, not imposed unilaterally.
Olowoyo also blamed the persistent rise in prices on Nigeria’s heavy reliance on the dollar for crude transactions and imports, saying it continues to weaken the naira and push up prices of goods and services.
He warned that workers may resort to a total shutdown of government activities if no concrete response comes within the next two weeks.
“We are receiving feelers. The body language of the government shows that they may invite us, but we have not received any official invitation. The feeler is that they are putting things together. We are looking up to that, but if nothing is done within one to two weeks’ time, then we go on a total strike,” he said.
