Unemployed Nigerians, private-sector employees and workers in state governments have been excluded from the Federal Government’s planned N70,000 monthly transport allowance for public sector workers, amid growing criticism of the initiative and a disagreement between organised labour unions.
NewsOnline Nigeria earlier reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through the Minister of Labour, approved the transport allowance following pressure from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which had threatened a nationwide shutdown over rising petrol prices and demanded a review of the N70,000 minimum wage, which has lost purchasing power amid inflation.
The Tinubu administration has scheduled November 5 for the implementation of the allowance. However, while eligible public sector workers await the proposed intervention, millions of Nigerians working outside the federal public service will not benefit from the arrangement.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that 71.2 million Nigerians are self-employed, while 3.32 million work in the public sector. The 2024 Labour Force data also indicate that 9.64 million formally employed Nigerians work in the private sector.
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The figures suggest that the majority of working Nigerians will be excluded from the planned monthly transport support.
The development comes as the cost of living continues to rise, with many households struggling to afford basic necessities. Food inflation stood at 19.59 per cent in September 2026, while petrol prices ranged between N1,370 and N1,429 per litre, against the backdrop of a N70,000 minimum wage.
Although the Federal Government has presented the allowance as an intervention to ease the transportation burden on public sector workers, public affairs analysts have questioned its adequacy, sustainability and limited coverage.
Arise Television anchors Reuben Abati and Oseni Rufai have separately criticised the proposal. Abati described the initiative as discriminatory, while Rufai argued that N70,000 would not adequately cover workers’ transportation expenses.
The allowance has also generated disagreements between the presidents of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo, respectively.
Opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have also faulted the proposal, coming months before the 2027 presidential election.
Onyekpere Questions Timing, Sustainability of Allowance
Speaking in an interview with DAILY POST, the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, described the proposed N70,000 transport allowance as an attempt by the government to appease voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Onyekpere argued that the Federal Government should have adopted a structured approach to reducing transportation costs instead of introducing a temporary financial benefit targeted at public sector workers.
He acknowledged that workers needed relief from rising transportation expenses but maintained that unemployed Nigerians and informal sector workers were equally affected and deserved support.
“The President’s offer to give workers a N70,000 transport allowance is not the way to go,” he said.
“Why do I say so? Workers need relief, I agree, to cushion the effects of transportation. Other Nigerians, particularly the unemployed and other informal sector workers, also need that relief,” he stated.
The policy expert recommended that the government should prioritise affordable public transportation by increasing the availability of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses manufactured or assembled locally.
According to him, locally assembled buses could be deployed at subsidised rates to reduce transportation costs for commuters.
“What one had expected was a structured approach to cheaper transportation.
“And this could have been done by maybe making available more CNG buses, not manufactured in China or America, but those that are manufactured by the local assembly and manufacturing plants, also assembly plants in Nigeria, and fully subsidise the cost,” he said.
Onyekpere also called for a significant reduction in the cost of converting vehicles to CNG, arguing that the process remained expensive despite government claims of providing support.
He cited cases of taxi drivers who, according to him, had been asked to pay between N500,000 and N700,000 for vehicle conversion.
“That CNG conversion should have been almost free of charge for all public transport owners.
“And then, it should have been at a discounted price to the private people who are operating their own cars,” he said.
He maintained that such interventions could have been funded with savings from the removal of the fuel subsidy, noting that commercial transport operators provide essential services to other Nigerians.
“Because, instead of, these things could have come from the savings, fuel subsidy savings. Instead of saying, oh, they are individuals, no, they are still carrying other people,” he added.
Expert Warns Allowance Could Be Withdrawn After Election
Onyekpere also questioned the timing and long-term sustainability of the proposed allowance, warning that the government could discontinue the intervention after the 2027 elections.
He argued that temporary financial incentives should not be introduced primarily to secure political support without a clear and sustainable framework.
“It’s not something you would do simply because elections are near and you want to appease people.
“After three, four or six months, and then the election is over, what happens?
“They will have voted for you, and they are happy with you, and then, as soon as you are sworn in for a second time, in the usual very rascally manner, you announce, all those things are over, in your triumphant manner,” he said.
Describing the proposal as a political inducement, he added: “It’s not what you need. That is simply trying to bribe the swing.”
The policy expert insisted that any government intervention aimed at reducing transportation costs should be properly designed, funded and included in the national budget.
“It has to be structured. It should be budgeted. It’s not something you just walk off and announce,” he said.
He further questioned the decision to restrict the proposed support to public sector workers when millions of unemployed, underemployed and informal sector Nigerians were also struggling with transportation expenses.
“How many Nigerians are working in the public service or other sectors? There are a lot of people who are unemployed.
“There are people who are underemployed. There are a lot of other people who need this relief,” he said.
Onyekpere also argued that reducing transportation costs across the country could help lower food prices by reducing the expenses incurred in moving agricultural produce from farms to markets.
“Because if you reduce the cost of transport for food, if you reduce the cost of transport, it will reduce the cost of food. For the pepper, tomato, rice, everybody,” he added.
He reiterated that the government should prioritise sustainable economic interventions that benefit a wider section of the population rather than measures he believes are intended to secure political support ahead of the 2027 elections.
“So, it shouldn’t just be to almost bribe people to vote for you, so that on the day you are sworn in, you now, magisterially announce that you have removed those things.
“And of course, nothing can happen to you. That’s my approach,” Onyekpere told DAILY POST.
