Nigerian public servants will begin a three-day warning strike on Friday, 2 October, after President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day address did not respond to their demands on fuel prices and pay. The action runs to Sunday, 4 October, and covers federal, state and local government employees.
The strike was called by the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), which groups eight public sector unions. Its national secretary, Gbenga Olowoyo, who also heads the Nigeria Civil Service Union, said the council wants three things. The first is a cut in the petrol price to N500 (R6.19) a litre. The second is an immediate wage award, and the third is talks on a minimum wage of at least N500,000 (R6,190) a month from 2027. The council set out these demands in a letter to Tinubu on 21 September, with a 30 September deadline.
Olowoyo said pump prices of N1,450 to N2,000 (R17.95 to R24.76) a litre, and as much as N2,500 (R30.95) in remote areas, were unacceptable to workers. He urged the government to create an intervention fund to reduce landing costs. He also called for crude to be supplied to the Dangote refinery and modular refiners on suitable terms.
| Petrol price marker (2026) | Naira per litre | Rand per litre |
|---|---|---|
| Dangote gantry, 10 February | N774 | R9.58 |
| Dangote gantry, 21 August | N1,165 | R14.42 |
| Dangote gantry, 12 September | N1,350 | R16.71 |
| Dangote gantry, 22 September | N1,325 | R16.40 |
| Pump prices, late September | N1,450–N2,500 | R17.95–R30.95 |
| Union demand | N500 | R6.19 |
The price rise followed an escalation in the Middle East conflict in February. Before then, crude traded below $69 (R1,127) a barrel and petrol sold for about N830 (R10.28) a litre in parts of Nigeria. Dangote raised its gantry price four times between late August and 12 September, a cumulative N185 (R2.29) increase, before trimming it on 22 September. Nigeria removed its petrol subsidy in 2023, so pump prices now follow landing and refinery costs.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the country’s largest union federation, has backed the strike. In its Independence Day statement, NLC president Joe Ajaero said inflation had eroded the real value of wages and that fuel costs were pushing up food, rent and school fees. The congress also called for agreed tax relief measures and lower government spending.
In his address, Tinubu ruled out a return to fuel subsidies, said the emergency phase of his reforms had ended and named the cost of living as a priority. It was his last Independence Day broadcast before the 2027 elections. Opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar said the N70,000 (R867) minimum wage now buys about 50 litres of petrol. When the minimum wage was N30,000 in April 2023, it bought about 118 litres.
Official data show price growth slowing. Headline inflation eased to 15.39% in August, its third consecutive monthly decline, down from 23.14% a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Food inflation remained higher at 19.57% and contributed more than six percentage points to the headline rate.
Aliko Dangote said last month that petrol in Nigeria was still 20% to 25% cheaper than in neighbouring Niger, a gap he said encourages smuggling. In June, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress rejected a N100,000 (R1,238) minimum wage proposal from state governors as unrealistic.