Atiku urges Tinubu to raise N70,000 wage, vows hike from day one

Former Vice President and presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately raise the national minimum wage from N70,000 to provide adequate protection for workers against rising living costs. In a statement, Atiku argued that the current wage, despite an increase from N30,000 in July 2024, has failed to keep pace with the higher costs of fuel, food, transportation and housing.

He highlighted that a N70,000 wage no longer buys the same purchasing power as it did in April 2023, when N30,000 could purchase about 118 litres of petrol, whereas N70,000 at the current price of N1,400 per litre would only buy about 50 litres. Atiku emphasized that workers are being forced to cope with a sharp decline in their purchasing power and called for a substantial wage increase that reflects current living costs.

He challenged the Federal Government to agree to the proposed increase and vowed to begin raising the wage floor from his first day in office if elected in 2027.