Atiku Abubakar Demands Minimum Wage Increase from Tinubu

Atiku Abubakar, the ADC presidential candidate, issued a statement through Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, urging President Bola Tinubu to increase the minimum wage. He argued that the removal of the fuel subsidy has led to a rise in essential commodity prices, causing significant hardship for many Nigerians.

Atiku accused Tinubu of overseeing a "ruthless economic squeeze," where workers are nominally paid more but struggle to afford basic necessities. He highlighted that the current minimum wage of ₦70,000 fails to restore purchasing power, as it can only buy 50 litres of petrol at ₦1,400 per litre, compared to the ₦30,000 minimum wage before Tinubu's administration, which could purchase approximately 118 litres.

Atiku pointed out that Nigeria's minimum wage is significantly lower than those in other oil-producing countries and called for a review of workers' salaries and a reduction in commodity prices to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.