High-cost-of-living protests and fuel queues amid workers day celebration.

Nigerians mark this year’s May Day amid spiralling, and unending snake-like queues at filling stations as scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol worsens across the Federation.

Although there have been assurances by the major oil supplier in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to alleviate this issue, however, the queues have persisted for over one week.

The fresh fuel scarcity has grounded many economic activities in states across the Federation as Nigerians queue up at filling stations nationwide.

While some motorists were lucky to get fuel at some retail outlets for between N700 and N,1200 per litre after hours of sweat and contest, others weren’t so lucky as many retail outlets were shut, with their excuse being supply challenge.

The shortage of the premium product saw black marketers selling petrol for as high as N2,000 per litre in states.

High-cost-of-living protests subsequently broke out across the country, with labour unions demanding new minimum wage for workers to cope with the inflationary pressure. The government has continued to placate citizens with the introduction of palliatives — as interim interventions — and encouraging them to endure the pain of the moment.

Soaring Food Inflation

Prices of food and basic commodities have comtinued to increase in the last few months weeks, as Nigerians continue ro battle one of the country’s toughest economic crises.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed that the food inflation rate in March 2024 stood at 3.62%, showing a decline of 0.17% from February 2024, when it was 3.79%.

Despite the drop recorded by the NBS, many Nigerians have lamented that the reduction has not reflected in the cost of basic food items like garri, millet, yam, bread coupled with energy and housing costs.

Though the naira has appreciated against the dollar in recent weeks from about N1,900/$ to about N1,400/$1 now, inflation rate stood at 33.20% for March 2024 and interest rate at 24.75%.

Demand For Fresh Minimum Wage

The NLC and the TUC have at various times called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu to hasten the upward review of wage awards. Of late, the Organised Labour demanded N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers to cope with the many economic realities and high cost of living in Nigeria.

The labour unions said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer cater for the wellbeing of an average Nigerian worker, lamenting that not all governors are paying the current wage award which expired in April, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. The Act is to be reviewed every five years to meet up with contemporary economic demands of workers.

Earlier in January, the Federal Government inaugurated a 37-man Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage with a mandate to recommend a new National Minimum Wage for the country but the recommendations of the committtee have not been implemented by the government.

The unions continue to insist that inflation has affected the cost of living for an average Nigerian worker, noting that state governors can afford to pay every public servant because they now get more monthly revenue allocation by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).