Public servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council have restated their September 30 deadline to the Federal Government over the high cost of petrol, their demand for a wage award and the start of negotiations for a new national minimum wage.
The council, made up of eight public sector unions, said it would begin a three-day warning strike on October 2 if the Federal Government failed to cut the price of petrol to N500 per litre, announce a wage award and introduce measures to ease the economic hardship facing workers.
The unions in the council are the Nigerian Civil Service Union; Medical and Health Workers Union; Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria; National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives; Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Employees; Nigeria Union of Public Service, Reportorial, Secretarial, Data Processors and Allied Workers; National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers; and National Union of Agriculture and Allied Employees.
The JNPSNC said it had mobilised public servants across the country for the warning strike, should the government fail to respond to the demands in its letter to President Bola Tinubu before the September 30 deadline.
The council wrote to Tinubu on September 21, demanding a cut in petrol prices to N500 per litre, an immediate wage award and the start of negotiations for a new minimum wage of not less than N500,000 from 2027.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Secretary and the General Secretary of the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Gbenga Olowoyo, the council said the September 30 deadline remained sacrosanct.
Olowoyo said the concerns of workers could no longer be ignored, naming the reduction of petrol prices, a wage award and the start of negotiations for a new minimum wage among the issues needing urgent attention.
He said, “The three critical issues requiring urgent attention are as follows: reduction of fuel price to N500 per litre. The Federal Government should take urgent steps to bring down the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to N500 per litre.
“This can be achieved through the provision of an intervention fund to address landing costs and support oil and gas operators.
“It is equally important for the Federal Government to ensure the sale of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery and operators of modular refineries at appropriate terms to facilitate increased domestic refining and help bring down the price of petroleum products.
“The current price of PMS, ranging from N1,450 to N2,000 and, in some locations outside major communities and cities, as high as N2,500 per litre, is unacceptable to Nigerian workers.”
The council said the rising cost of petrol had increased economic pressure on workers, their dependants and other Nigerians, making it hard for many to maintain a normal standard of living.
It also urged the Federal Government to approve a wage award to cushion the effect of the prevailing economic conditions on workers and vulnerable Nigerians.
The workers further demanded the immediate setting up of a tripartite committee to begin negotiations for a new national minimum wage, which is expected to become due in 2027.
“The Federal Government should urgently establish a tripartite committee to commence and facilitate negotiations for the new national minimum wage expected to become due in 2027.
“The Nigerian workers’ demand for the immediate constitution of the committee is informed by the need to avoid any administrative or procedural delay that could affect the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage once it is eventually negotiated and passed into law by the National Assembly,” the statement added.
The council maintained that failure by the Federal Government to meet its demands by September 30 would trigger the planned industrial action.
“Consequently, the council states that failure by the Federal Government to take the necessary steps to address these issues on or before 30th September 2026 will leave Nigerian workers with no option but to commence a three-day warning strike, with effect from Friday, 2nd October 2026, to press home their demands.
“It is imperative to state clearly that the Independence Day address of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should adequately address these critical issues.
“Failure to address the concerns raised, according to the Council, will attract the displeasure of Nigerian workers and their dependants, as well as other vulnerable Nigerians who continue to bear the brunt of the prevailing economic hardship,” the statement concluded.
