By Ola Williams-
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to urgently review the national minimum wage, insisting that the current ₦70,000 benchmark has been overtaken by inflation and no longer meets the basic needs of Nigerian workers.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, NLC’s Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, lamented that rising living costs have rendered the wage unsustainable.
“The truth is that ₦70,000 is not sustainable under the present economic situation,” Upah said. “Workers are under immense pressure, and unless the government responds quickly, the crisis of survival will only worsen.”
He noted that the union has consistently engaged with the Federal Government on the matter and expects a swift response.
“We have since engaged the Federal Government at different times and forums. It is our hope that the government would see both the economic and moral obligations to act expeditiously,” he added.
The NLC’s fresh demand comes amid a wave of upward reviews of minimum wages by several state governments in response to harsh economic realities.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu recently announced an increase to ₦85,000, with a pledge to further raise it to ₦100,000 in 2025. Similarly, Rivers State approved ₦85,000 in October 2024, while Bayelsa, Niger, Enugu, and Akwa Ibom pegged their wage at ₦80,000.
Other states such as Ogun and Delta are implementing ₦77,000, Benue and Osun have set theirs at ₦75,000, while Ondo approved ₦73,000.
President Bola Tinubu had signed the new National Minimum Wage Bill into law in July 2024, raising the wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 for workers across the federal, state, and local governments as well as the private sector. However, with inflation eroding its value within months, labour unions insist that a fresh upward review has become inevitable.
