- Safiu Kehinde
The 2027 African Democratic Congress Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has claimed that the N30,000 minimum wage before President Bola Tinubu’s election in 2023 is more valuable than the current N70,000 minimum wage introduced by the president.
Atiku made the claim during his address at the ADC’s National Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
The former Vice President, in the broadcast message delivered in commemoration of Nigeria’s 66th Independence Day celebration, defended his claim by comparing the cost of fuel and food items in 2023 with 2026.
According to him, the N70,000 minimum wage had only doubled in paper but purchases less than half of amount of petrol N30,000 will buy in 2023.
‘Let us bring this argument down from the podium to the places where Nigerians make their daily choices: the filling station, the market stall and the breakfast table.
‘In April 2023, a ₦30,000 minimum wage could buy about 118 litres of petrol. Today, a ₦70,000 minimum wage buys just 50 litres. The salary has more than doubled on paper; the petrol it can buy has fallen by more than half.
‘The average price of one egg rose from about ₦88 in April 2023 to ₦261 in May 2026. A sliced loaf was about ₦500 in April 2023; by May 2026, the average was about ₦2,000 for a smaller loaf.
‘These may look like small items in a government report. In a family home, they are breakfast.
‘They are the money left for a child’s lunch. If 2023 was the illness, why does your “cure” buy less fuel, fewer eggs and a smaller loaf of bread?’ He asked.
Atiku demanded that Tinubu answers Nigeria’s question on what happened to the savings he gathered from fuel subsidy removal.
He thereafter presented intended plan which he claimed to be focused on making life affordable again.
‘No mother struggling to feed her children is asking for “morphine.” No worker spending his wages on transport is addicted to subsidy.
‘They are asking what happened to the savings you promised and when your reforms will bring down the cost of living.
‘My fellow Nigerians, I will not ask you to accept another promise without asking how it would work.
‘Working with my running mate and our partners in the African Democratic Congress, I will pursue a clear purpose: make life affordable again.’ He said.
The ADC candidate revealed plan to introduce budgeted production subsidy which will be limited only to fuel refined in Nigeria.
‘We will introduce a capped, budgeted production subsidy tied to verified fuel refined in Nigeria, including fuel from modular refineries. Imported petrol will not qualify.
‘The benefit must reach consumers through lower pump prices. We will publish the costs, independently audit the payments and cut government waste to help fund the programme.
‘The principle is simple: produce here, refine here, create jobs here and pay less here. If Bola disagrees, he should answer the proposal on its merits. Calling relief an addiction will not lower the price of petrol.’ He said.
Atiku further questioned Tinubu’s fresh promises as demanded that the president account for what he had done over the past three years.
‘Bola, your speech is full of “we will.” We will make farming cheaper. We will power factories. We will create jobs. We will bring down prices.
‘You have been President for more than three years. Nigerians are entitled to ask what you have done with the time already given to you.
‘You say that when farmers produce more cheaply and manufacturers spend less on electricity, prices will fall. Of course they will.
‘But farmers and manufacturers are telling you that they cannot produce cheaply now. A farmer who cannot safely reach his field cannot wait for your theory of cheaper food. A factory paying more to keep its machines running cannot wait for another promise of industrial growth.
‘You speak of young Nigerians building unicorns. I see their talent wherever I go. I see young people learning new skills, making things and looking for a chance to serve their country.
‘They first need work that pays enough to get them through the month. Ambition is abundant in Nigeria. What is scarce is the chance to turn it into a living.’ He said.
