Civil Servants Give Tinubu September 30 Deadline, Demand N500 Petrol Price, Wage Award

Public service workers under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), Trade Union Side, have given President Bola Tinubu until September 30, 2026, to address the worsening economic hardship affecting workers and their families.

In a letter to the President, the workers demanded that the Federal Government stabilise the price of petrol at N500 per litre, approve an immediate Wage Award and review salaries and allowances across the public service.

The JNPSNC also called for the immediate constitution of a committee to negotiate a new National Minimum Wage ahead of January 2027. The council proposed a minimum monthly salary of N500,000 for a Grade Level 01, Step 1 officer under its proposed 2027 salary structure.

The workers said petrol prices had risen to N1,430 per litre or more in some locations, further increasing transportation costs and the prices of food and other essential commodities. They linked the worsening pressure on household incomes to the removal of the fuel subsidy three years ago.

The council argued that food palliatives were not a sustainable response to the economic crisis, saying temporary distributions could not restore workers’ purchasing power or address the wider rise in living costs.

“It has dawned on Nigerian workers that the provision of palliatives such as bags of rice, Indomie, vegetable oil, garri, among other edible foods, is as good as weaponising Nigerians with poverty because it is a Pyrrhic intervention,” the workers said.

The JNPSNC said reducing the price of petrol to N500 would have wider effects across the economy by lowering transportation and production costs. It also called for harmonised wages across Ministries, Departments and Agencies, with corresponding reviews at the state and local government levels.

Beyond the immediate Wage Award, the workers demanded periodic adjustments to salaries and allowances in line with inflation, as well as subsidised transportation and affordable housing for civil servants. They said rising inflation, fuel prices, food, healthcare, education and housing costs had eroded the real value of workers’ earnings.

The council warned that the continuing hardship was creating tension among workers and Nigerians and urged the President to act by Wednesday, September 30, 2026. It also expressed expectations that Tinubu’s forthcoming Independence Day address would respond to the concerns raised in the letter.