Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government’s N70,000 monthly transport allowance for public service workers, describing the intervention as inadequate to address Nigeria’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the six-month allowance would provide only temporary relief while millions of Nigerians continued to grapple with rising transportation, food, energy and housing costs.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said the allowance would purchase approximately 50 litres of petrol at an estimated price of N1,400 per litre.

The Federal Government announced the allowance under a memorandum of understanding reached with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday, following weeks of labour agitation over rising living costs, workers’ welfare and outstanding agreements. Payments are scheduled to begin in November 2026.

Atiku questioned the decision to restrict the intervention to public service workers, arguing that private-sector employees, traders, small-business owners, transport operators and millions of Nigerians working in the informal sector were equally affected by rising costs.

“If public service workers receive N70,000 monthly for transport from November, what happens to private sector workers, traders, small businesses, transport operators and millions without formal jobs?” he asked.

He maintained that the economic hardship extended beyond transportation to include the rising costs of powering businesses, cooking, operating school buses and meeting other essential household expenses.

The former vice-president urged the Federal Government to clarify the eligibility criteria for the allowance, publish payment schedules and resolve outstanding minimum wage negotiations.

He also criticised the government’s compressed natural gas (CNG) initiative, arguing that it had failed to deliver the promised reduction in transportation costs.

Atiku proposed a transparently managed production subsidy for petrol refined in Nigeria as an alternative, insisting that the government should address corruption and financial leakages rather than transfer the burden of its economic policies to citizens.

Describing the transport allowance as inadequate, he said temporary payments could not reverse the effects of the government’s economic policies.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) rejected the N70,000 monthly allowance, calling for an increase in workers’ salaries instead of temporary relief measures.

The TUC President, Festus Osifo, and its Secretary-General, Nuhu Toro, said in a statement that the government should prioritise improved wages to help workers cope with rising living costs.