Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to increase Nigeria’s minimum wage, saying the current N70,000 wage floor no longer reflects the rising cost of living.

Atiku made the call on Sunday in a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.

He backed organised labour’s demand for a substantial increase in the minimum wage and argued that rising costs of fuel, transportation, food, rent and other necessities had eroded workers’ purchasing power.

Atiku particularly criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy, saying the resulting increase in living costs had placed additional pressure on working families.

“At N1,400 a litre, the entire N70,000 monthly minimum wage buys just 50 litres of petrol,” Atiku said, questioning what would remain for workers to spend on food, rent and transportation.

He compared the purchasing power of the N30,000 minimum wage in April 2023 with the current N70,000 wage, saying N30,000 could then purchase about 118 litres of petrol at an average price of N254.06 per litre, while N70,000 at N1,400 per litre would purchase about 50 litres.

Atiku also compared Nigeria’s minimum wage with figures he cited for several African and oil-producing countries, including Libya, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

He acknowledged that wage structures and living costs differ across countries but maintained that the differences did not make N70,000 adequate for Nigerian workers facing current prices.

The ADC presidential candidate called on Tinubu to agree to what he described as a substantial increase in the minimum wage that reflects the cost of food, transportation, rent and electricity.

He also said that if elected president, his administration would pursue policies aimed at improving workers’ purchasing power and reducing the pressure of living costs.