Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate and former vice-president, says Nigerians are facing worsening economic hardship under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, arguing that the N70,000 minimum wage now covers only about 50 litres of petrol at N1,400 per litre.
Wages lose purchasing power
In a Sunday statement issued by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said living costs had surged during the Tinubu administration without a matching improvement in workers’ earnings.
He contrasted the present wage with the previous N30,000 minimum: at that level, workers could purchase approximately 118 litres of petrol, whereas N70,000 today buys just 50 litres.
Although minimum-wage systems vary from one country to another, Atiku said Nigerian employees remain worse paid than workers in other oil-producing African states, including Libya, Algeria and the Republic of Benin.
He questioned how employees could meet household expenses when fuel consumes so much of their monthly income, asking what would remain for feeding children, paying rent and travelling to work the following Monday.
Atiku said the nominal increase in pay had failed to improve living standards. In his words, workers may now see a larger figure on their payslips, but that income purchases less fuel and supports a smaller standard of living.
Calls for a further adjustment
Civil servants have proposed either raising the minimum wage to N500,000 or reducing petrol prices to N500 per litre.
The Tinubu administration has also acknowledged that N70,000 is no longer sufficient to meet workers’ needs and has proposed an upward review of the minimum wage.
