Adewole Adebayo has criticised the federal government's N70,000 monthly transport allowance for workers, describing it as a vote-buying gimmick, according to TheCable.
TheCable reported the remark on Thursday, 29 October 2026. The allowance had been approved by the Nigerian government for workers, Premium Times Nigeria reported.
The payment has drawn a mixed response from organised labour. Punch Newspapers reported that the transport allowance for federal workers has cost N465bn, and that the Trade Union Congress rejected the deal.
Labour's position is also split. The Guardian Nigeria News reported that unions are divided over the N70,000 palliative and are maintaining their demand for a N500,000 minimum wage.
The figures reported by Punch and The Guardian indicate the dispute is not only about the size of the allowance but also about whether it substitutes for a wage review. Adebayo's criticism, as carried by TheCable, frames the payment as politically motivated rather than a lasting fix for workers' transport costs.
The federal government has not responded to Adebayo's claim in the reporting summarised here.
What to watch next: whether the government addresses the vote-buying allegation and how the divided labour unions settle their position on the N70,000 allowance versus the N500,000 minimum wage demand.
