The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and federal government workers have called for an urgent upward review of the national minimum wage, stating that the current N70,000 benchmark can no longer sustain Nigerian workers.
The demand followed recent moves by several states to raise their workers’ minimum wages beyond N70,000 in response to prevailing economic pressures.
Workers and union leaders, in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, explained that rising costs of food, transportation, housing, and essential services had rendered the current wage inadequate.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new National Minimum Wage Bill into law in July 2024, raising the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000. The law applies across the federal, state, local governments, and the private sector.
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However, on 27 August 2025, the Imo State Government announced an increase from N70,000 to N104,000, alongside adjustments in the entire salary structure for civil servants.
Governor Hope Uzodinma explained that the decision was reached in consultation with organised labour and was aimed at improving the welfare of workers in the state.
Before the Imo development, some states had already raised their minimum wages above the federal benchmark.
Lagos State, under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, increased its wage to N85,000 on 16 October 2024, with a pledge to reach N100,000 in 2025.
Similarly, Rivers State approved N85,000 two days later, while Bayelsa, Niger, Enugu, and Akwa Ibom States implemented N80,000. Ogun and Delta fixed theirs at N77,000, Benue and Osun at N75,000, while Ondo pegged its own at N73,000.
Speaking to NAN in Abuja on Sunday, Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Mr Benson Upah, said inflation had wiped out the real value of the N70,000 wage.
“The truth is that N70,000 is not sustainable under the present economic situation,” he stated.
“Workers are under immense pressure, and unless the government responds quickly, the crisis of survival will only worsen,” he added.
Upah confirmed that the NLC had been in discussions with the Federal Government at different levels, stressing the need for urgent adjustments.
Labour unions have warned that without swift intervention, more workers would fall below the poverty line despite the 2024 wage increase.
Workers also highlighted that the disparity in wages among states had created imbalances, making it difficult for federal workers, in particular, to cope.
The NLC reiterated its readiness to continue negotiations, urging the government to prioritise the welfare of its workforce in light of current economic realities.
