The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has reaffirmed that its two-week ultimatum issued to the Federal Government remains active, warning that nationwide industrial action will follow if key demands regarding pump prices and minimum wage adjustments are not met.
​The resolution was reached at a joint meeting of the NLC’s leadership organs at the Paschal Bafyau Labour House in Abuja, where union leaders declared a 14-day countdown effective Friday, October 9, 2026. With the deadline expiring at midnight on Thursday, October 23, 2026, organised labour warned that failure to act would force affiliate unions into coordinated remedial actions nationwide.
​Addressing press correspondents during a briefing in Abuja, NLC President Joe Ajaero asserted that the current ₦70,000 national baseline established in 2024 has been rendered completely ineffective by hyperinflation and escalating transportation costs.
Ajaero highlighted that Nigerian workers are facing unprecedented economic distress following the latest deregulated surge in fuel prices, making the call for a fresh wage renegotiation a matter of basic survival.
He urged the government to roll back pump prices to 2024 levels, implement comprehensive tax reliefs, and immediately honor past collective bargaining agreements, including the February 5, 2026 Terms of Settlement reached with the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) alongside directives from the Joint Public Sector Negotiating Council (JPSNC).
​Responding to the union’s stance on behalf of the administration, Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele explained during a press conference on petrol subsidies in Abuja that the Federal Government is actively working to stabilize pump prices by negotiating a price ceiling of ₦1,350 per litre on ex-gantry costs.
Oyedele appealed to labour leaders for patience, cautioning that returning to direct subsidies could push petrol prices as high as ₦2,000 per litre and severely hamper national fiscal stability.
​As the October 23 deadline nears, civil society groups and affiliate industrial unions across the country remain on standby for directives from the NLC leadership should negotiations fail to produce a binding settlement.
