The ongoing nationwide strike led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has taken a new turn as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) advises organized labour not to settle for anything less than a N120,000 minimum wage.
This call comes amidst the Federal Government’s current offer of N60,000, which the labour unions have already rejected in favour of their initial demand of N494,000.
On Monday, PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi criticized the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for what he termed as insincere negotiations with labour leaders.
He argued that the Federal Government’s claim of insufficient funds to meet the N120,000 demand was hypocritical, given its alleged extravagant spending on other projects.
“The back and forth with the labour leaders is hypocritical of the government,” Abdullahi said.
“They didn’t mean well for Nigerians from the word go, even when they started engaging the NLC. It was not an intended policy direction. It was something that was made as a smokescreen to continue to deceive the Nigerian workers and, of course, the nation.”
Abdullahi further criticized the government’s spending priorities, citing expensive infrastructure projects and international trips for officials as evidence that funds could be reallocated to support a higher minimum wage.
“If they can afford to construct a road for N3 trillion, if they can afford to do all this jamboree, if they can afford to take 1,500 government officials out of this country for things that are not important, then I don’t know why, for crying out loud, they should not be able to pay a reasonable minimum wage,” he stated.
The PDP’s stance has intensified the political debate surrounding the strike, which has already caused significant disruptions across the country.
Government offices, airports, schools, and hospitals have been paralyzed, with electricity and water supply severely affected.
Responding to the PDP’s comments, APC Publicity Director Bala Ibrahim accused the opposition of exploiting the situation for political gain and labelled their advice as unpatriotic.
“The PDP is gradually turning into something that will one day question the integrity of the Constitution of Nigeria,” Ibrahim said.
He argued that the PDP’s position stemmed from bitterness over losing the recent elections, and that if the PDP had won, there would be no wages at all.
Ibrahim acknowledged the economic hardship faced by Nigerians but described the NLC and TUC’s demand for N494,000 as unreasonable.
He called for a more balanced approach in negotiations, taking into account the broader population.
“The labour union should engage their sense of reason in negotiation. They should engage their conscience, patriotism, justice, and fairness in negotiation,” he stated.
“While they are negotiating for the workers who are less than 20 percent of the population, they should also have feelings for the remaining 80 percent of Nigerians who go to the same market with these workers, who have no one to pay them anything, and who are struggling to make ends meet.”