The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has given the Federal Government until October 27, 2026, to review minimum wage, and meet its demands or face a potential nationwide shutdown of economic activity.
NLC Acting General Secretary Benson Upah announced the deadline in a statement on Thursday following a meeting with the Minister of Labour.
The union is demanding an upward review of the current N70,000 minimum wage and an immediate reduction in fuel prices, which currently reach as high as N1,429 per litre.
Consequently, the NLC has directed its state councils, affiliate unions, and civil society partners to initiate mobilization for potential nationwide action beginning October 27.
Additionally, the NLC expressed strong displeasure that the Federal Government failed to fulfill any of its demands or offer firm commitments during the meeting.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has given the Federal Government until October 27 to address workers’ demands, as failure will lead to a nationwide strike,” Upah said in a statement.
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Backstory…
The latest ultimatum by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) comes amid renewed tensions between organised labour and the Federal Government over rising petrol prices, teachers welfare, declining workers’ purchasing power and delays in addressing outstanding labour demands.
The dispute has intensified over the past two weeks, with repeated meetings between both sides failing to produce a resolution.
On October 8, 2026, the NLC issued the Federal Government a two-week ultimatum, demanding that petrol prices be reduced to the level they were when the ₦70,000 national minimum wage was signed into law in 2024.
It also demanded the commencement of negotiations for a new minimum wage before the end of October.
Representatives from both sides met at the Federal Ministry of Labour in Abuja on October 22, but the talks ended in a deadlock.
The NLC stated that the government delegation lacked the necessary mandate to negotiate substantively, leaving all primary demands unresolved and forcing an adjournment until October 27.
