Public sector workers under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) have reaffirmed their Sept. 30, 2026, ultimatum to the Federal Government, warning that they will begin a three-day warning strike on Oct. 2 if their demands remain unmet.
The council is demanding a reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to N500 per litre, the immediate approval of a wage award and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage ahead of 2027.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the National Secretary of the JNPSNC and General Secretary of the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Gbenga Olowoyo, said the Sept. 30 deadline remained non-negotiable.
According to him, workers across the country have already been mobilised for industrial action should the Federal Government fail to address the issues raised in a letter earlier sent to President Bola Tinubu.
“The ultimatum (September 30, 2026) served on the Federal Government to address issues raised in the letter remains sacrosanct,” Olowoyo said.
The JNPSNC, which comprises eight public sector unions, said the rising cost of petrol has pushed millions of workers and their families deeper into economic hardship.
Its members include 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 the National Union of Agriculture and Allied Employees.
The council argued that the current petrol price, which it said ranges from N1,450 to N2,000 per litre in many areas and as high as N2,500 in some locations outside major cities, is unsustainable.
“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,” Olowoyo said.
The council called on the Federal Government to introduce measures that would lower fuel prices, including providing intervention funds to offset landing costs and ensuring crude oil is supplied to the Dangote Refinery and modular refinery operators on favourable terms to boost local refining capacity.
It also urged the government to approve a wage award to cushion the impact of rising living costs on workers and vulnerable Nigerians.
“The Federal Government should urgently approve a wage award for Nigerian workers to cushion the effects of the prevailing harsh economic conditions being experienced by workers, their dependants and vulnerable Nigerians,” Olowoyo said.
The JNPSNC further demanded the immediate commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage, proposing a tripartite process that would pave the way for a revised wage structure from 2027.
The council warned that failure to address the demands before the deadline, particularly in President Tinubu’s Independence Day address, could trigger nationwide industrial action.
“Failure on the part of the Federal Government to do the needful on or before September 30, 2026, Nigerian workers will not hesitate to embark on a three-day warning strike beginning October 2, 2026,” the statement said.
The latest threat comes amid growing concerns over the rising cost of living and mounting pressure on household incomes following successive increases in petrol prices across the country.
