President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu offered organised labour a minimum wage of ₦250,000 if the union agreed to a petrol price of about ₦1,500 per litre.
Ajaero made the disclosure while speaking about workers’ hardship and the negotiations that led to the ₦70,000 national minimum wage.
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He spoke during an interview on Mic On Podcast, published on the podcast’s official YouTube channel on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
According to Ajaero, the offer was made during a meeting between the President and labour leaders as the government and organised labour were discussing the minimum wage and the impact of petrol pricing on Nigerians.
“I could remember in a meeting our executive had with Mr. President, he said, ‘Ah, you are the person that is holding me down; if you allow me to increase this price,’” Ajaero said, referring to a proposed petrol price of about ₦1,500.
“I will pay you guys ₦250,000,” he quoted Tinubu as saying.
Ajaero said the President also gave the labour leaders an analysis of what was happening in neighbouring countries during the discussion.
But according to the NLC president, labour leaders rejected the proposal because they were concerned about the effect a petrol price increase would have on Nigerians outside the organised workforce.
“We told him, ‘Look, sir, we prefer to take even ₦70,000 than for you to increase the pump price around ₦1,500, because it is not only the labour force that will suffer from this effect,’” Ajaero said.
He said accepting the higher wage in exchange for a sharp increase in the price of petrol would have meant putting the interests of workers ahead of the wider population.
Ajaero argued that Nigeria was bigger than the organised workforce and that the impact of higher petrol prices would be felt by households, businesses and other Nigerians.
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“Nigeria is bigger than the working people,” he said, explaining the position taken by labour during the negotiations.
The negotiations eventually produced the ₦70,000 national minimum wage, which President Tinubu signed into law in July 2024.
The new wage replaced the previous ₦30,000 minimum wage and followed months of negotiations between the Federal Government, organised labour and employers.
At the time, labour had pushed for a substantial increase in workers’ pay as the cost of living continued to rise.
The minimum wage talks also took place against the background of the removal of the petrol subsidy in 2023, a policy that led to a sharp rise in fuel prices and increased transportation and living costs for many Nigerians.
Ajaero’s latest account is not the first time he has spoken publicly about the alleged ₦250,000 offer.
In September 2024, following another increase in petrol prices, the NLC president said labour had been presented with two options during negotiations: a ₦250,000 minimum wage alongside a petrol price of between ₦1,500 and ₦2,000, or a ₦70,000 minimum wage while retaining the existing petrol price.
Labour, he said at the time, chose the ₦70,000 option because it did not want to support a fuel price increase that would put additional pressure on Nigerians.
The account was disputed by the Presidency in 2024. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, then Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, said President Tinubu had not offered labour leaders a minimum wage increase in exchange for a petrol price hike. He said he had attended the meetings between the President and labour representatives and that no such agreement was discussed.
Ajaero’s latest comments therefore revive an issue that has previously been contested between organised labour and the Presidency.
During the recent podcast interview, the NLC president also pointed to the 2027 statutory review of the national minimum wage, which is expected to reopen discussions over workers’ earnings.
The review will come as labour continues to raise concerns about the purchasing power of workers and the rising cost of basic goods and services.
For workers receiving the ₦70,000 minimum wage, the value of their earnings has become a major part of the wage debate as prices of food, transportation and other necessities have changed.
Ajaero said labour’s decision during the earlier negotiations was not simply about how much workers would receive at the end of each month, but about the effect of government decisions on Nigerians generally.
His latest remarks are likely to draw renewed attention to the circumstances surrounding the 2024 minimum wage agreement and the choices presented to labour during the negotiations.