Public sector workers have threatened to begin a three-day warning strike on Friday, October 2, if the Federal Government fails to reduce petrol prices to N500 per litre, approve a wage award and begin negotiations for a new national minimum wage.
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council said its September 30 deadline for the government to act on the demands remained unchanged, warning that public servants had been mobilised for the proposed industrial action.
The council also demanded the immediate constitution of a tripartite committee to negotiate a new national minimum wage of at least N500,000 from 2027.
In a statement by its National Secretary, Gbenga Olowoyo, the JNPSNC said the Federal Government must urgently reduce the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, 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,” the council said.
The workers also called for an immediate wage award to cushion the effects of the rising cost of living on workers, their dependants and other vulnerable Nigerians.
The council said it had written to President Bola Tinubu on September 21 but expressed dissatisfaction that no visible action had been taken on the demands.
It also urged the government to consider an intervention fund to address petrol landing costs and support oil and gas operators, while ensuring that crude oil was made available to the Dangote Refinery and modular refinery operators on appropriate terms to encourage domestic refining.
On the minimum wage, the council said the tripartite committee should be constituted without delay to allow negotiations for the new wage to begin before the current framework becomes due for replacement.
“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,” Olowoyo said.
The council further said President Tinubu’s Independence Day address on October 1 should address the issues raised by the workers.
“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 said.
The JNPSNC comprises eight public sector unions, including the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Medical and Health Workers Union, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives.
