Civil servants cry out over hardship, write Tinubu to cut petrol price to ₦500 and give wage relief

• Civil servants ask Tinubu to reduce petrol price to ₦500 per litre.

• Workers demand immediate wage relief and salary adjustments.

• JNPSNC wants talks on a new minimum wage to begin before 2027.

• The workers say rising fuel costs have worsened economic hardship.

Civil servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), Trade Union Side, have written to President Bola Tinubu, asking the Federal Government to reduce petrol prices to ₦500 per litre and introduce immediate wage relief for workers amid rising economic hardship.

In a letter addressed to the President, the workers called for the government to stabilise the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, at ₦500 per litre, saying the rising cost of fuel had worsened the financial pressure facing workers and their families.

The council also demanded an immediate Wage Award for public servants at the federal, state and local government levels, alongside an upward review of salaries and allowances across the public service.

The workers said the wage award should serve as a temporary relief measure ahead of negotiations for a new National Minimum Wage expected to take effect from January 2027. They called for the immediate creation of a committee to begin discussions on the new wage structure.

The JNPSNC said the increase in petrol prices, which it said had reached about ₦1,430 per litre or more in some locations, had contributed to the rising cost of transportation, goods and services across the country.

The workers argued that reducing fuel costs would provide wider relief for Nigerians because petrol prices affect transportation, production costs and household expenses.

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They also criticised reliance on food palliatives as a solution to economic hardship, saying such interventions were not sustainable and calling instead for measures that would provide broader economic relief.

The council gave the Federal Government until September 30, 2026, to respond to its demands, warning that the continued hardship was increasing tension among workers and Nigerians.

The demands come amid continued public concerns over the rising cost of living, with organised labour and workers’ groups calling for measures to improve purchasing power and ease financial pressure on Nigerians.