What ₦70,000 Minimum Wage Can Buy as Petrol Hits ₦1,400 Per Litre in Nigeria

• Nigerian civil servants are facing a bigger reality as petrol price races towards N1,500 per litre while minimum wage remains at N70,000
• Festus Keyamo admitted that the current minimum wage cannot withstand rising living costs and shrinking purchasing power
• NLC demands government intervention, wage reviews and stronger links between salaries, inflation and living costs

Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.

Nigeria’s ₦70,000 national minimum wage is coming under renewed scrutiny as rising petrol prices eat deeper into workers’ incomes and increase the cost of transportation, food and other necessities.

At a pump price of ₦1,400 per litre, a worker who devoted an entire ₦70,000 monthly minimum wage to petrol could buy just 50 litres.

Buying only 10 litres would cost ₦14,000, equivalent to 20% of the monthly minimum wage, leaving ₦56,000 for food, transportation, rent, electricity, healthcare and other expenses.

The calculation highlights the widening gap between workers’ nominal wages and their actual purchasing power as energy costs rise.

Petrol prices squeeze ₦70,000 wage

Petrol prices have risen sharply following increases in international crude oil prices and costs across the domestic petroleum supply chain.

Vanguard reported earlier in September that MRS increased its petrol price in Lagos and surrounding areas to ₦1,400 per litre from ₦1,300, while NNPC filling stations moved to ₦1,375 from ₦1,275. Some independent marketers were also selling at about ₦1,400 per litre,

At ₦1,400 per litre, filling a 50-litre vehicle tank would consume the entire monthly earnings of a minimum-wage worker.

Even workers who do not own cars are exposed to the increase because higher petrol prices feed into commercial transport fares and the cost of moving food and other goods.

Keyamo says ₦70,000 no longer enough

The pressure on household finances has now received acknowledgement from within the Federal Government.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said the ₦70,000 national minimum wage was inadequate to withstand the economic pressures confronting workers.

Speaking at the 2026 National Pre-Retirement Summit, Keyamo said rising living costs had weakened workers’ purchasing power and called for improved wages.

The current minimum wage was increased from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 in 2024.

NLC seeks intervention as oil prices rise

The Nigeria Labour Congress has gone further, arguing that the government should use additional revenues associated with higher global oil prices to provide relief to workers.

NLC President Joe Ajaero said Nigeria, as an oil-producing country, could benefit from higher crude prices even as citizens face higher petrol and transportation costs.

According to Vanguard, Ajaero called for intervention measures and argued that minimum-wage negotiations should consider inflation, food and fuel costs rather than focusing solely on the nominal salary figure.

The NLC has also advocated linking wages and pensions more closely to inflation or the cost of living, so that sharp increases in prices do not quickly wipe out workers’ purchasing power.

Fresh wage debate gathers momentum

Pressure for another wage adjustment is already building.

Civil servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council recently demanded a reduction in petrol prices, a wage award and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage.

For workers earning ₦70,000, however, the immediate concern remains what their salaries can purchase today.

With 10 litres of petrol alone taking one-fifth of the minimum wage, the latest fuel-price increase provides a stark illustration of how quickly rising living costs can erode the value of a salary increase.

Marketers release fresh prices for petrol

Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market recorded significant petrol price reductions in three major cities during the trading week, with depot rates falling to as low as N1,330 per litre.

The latest weekly market review by Petroleumprice.ng showed that petrol prices declined across Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar, while Lagos remained relatively firm at around N1,350 per litre.