In what seems to be a concession to organized labour’s sustained demand for urgent review of the national minimum wage, the Federal Government has indicated its readiness to review the national minimum wage on the grounds that the current N70,000 benchmark no longer reflects prevailing economic realities.
The move to raise the workers’ minimum wage by the present administration is coming less than two years after the president signed into law the new minimum wage, which jacked up the wage from N30,000 per month to the current level.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who gave the hint on the government’s plan to review upward theminimum wage on Thursday at the Good Governance Summit 2026 organised by Working People United (WoPU) in Abuja, said the government recognized that the cost of living continued surge over the months and that workers deserved wages that aligned with the economic realities in the country..
He expatiated: “This administration has delivered a new national minimum wage. In July 2024 President Bola Tinubu signed into law a minimum wage of N70,000, with more than double the N30,000 that workers had endured for years and recognising that the cost of living does not stand still, the President reduced the strategic review cycle from five years to three years, so that wages may keep closer pace with economic reality.
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“The N70,000 wage, which was a milestone in 2024 must be honestly reassessed against today’s realities, and I can confirm to you that when the time comes to begin the process of reviewing the national minimum wage, this administration will approach that endeavour not as an adversary of labour, but as a partner”, Gbajabiamila added.
He urged organised labour to sustain dialogue with government, stressing that cooperation rather than confrontation would deliver better outcomes for workers and the economy.
Speaking at the forum, Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, said the impact of government policies on workers remained the true measure of governance.
He maintained that policies must go beyond governance documents and translate into improved living standards, productivity, social protection and economic opportunities for citizens.
The minister said: “Governance is not merely about policies written in documents or programmes announced from government offices, the true measure of governance is the extent to which policies translate into improved livelihoods, decent work, increased productivity, social protection, economic opportunities, and dignity for the working people,” the Minister said.
In his address at the event, National Coordinator of WoPU, Williams Akporeha, said workers represented the backbone of the country’s economy and development efforts, hence the need to prioritize their welfare at all times.
The civil advocate clarified: “There’s no economy without the working people, there’s no productivity without the working people, and there’s no national development.”
Akporeha described the summit as a gathering of workers across different sectors, who were united by a common vision to promote sustainable development of the country in order to improve the socioeconomic wellbeing of all Nigerians.
