Federal Workers Demand N300,000 Minimum Wage as Cost of Living Bites Harder

Federal Secretariat In Abuja

Federal Workers Demand N300,000 Minimum Wage as Cost of Living Bites Harder

The Federal Workers Forum has written to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly, demanding an immediate review of the salaries of federal civil servants and an increase in the minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000. The forum argued that the current wage structure no longer reflects the economic realities confronting federal workers amid Nigeria’s escalating cost of living. The letter, dated September 2, 2026, and signed by the National Coordinator of the FWF, Andrew Emelieze, and General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele, was addressed to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives through the Clerk of the National Assembly. President Tinubu, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation were also listed among the recipients, underscoring the urgency and high-level nature of the workers’ demands.

The forum proposed a new salary structure with a minimum of N300,000 for Level 1 Step 1 workers and a maximum of N1.5 million for Level 17 officers. The proposed structure would set salaries progressively across all grade levels, with Level 2 workers earning N330,000; Level 3, N360,000; Level 4, N390,000; Level 5, N420,000; Level 6, N450,000; and Level 7, N480,000. For senior officers, the forum proposed N510,000 for Level 8; N550,000 for Level 9; N600,000 for Level 10; N700,000 for Level 12; N750,000 for Level 13; N800,000 for Level 14; N1 million for Level 15; N1.2 million for Level 16; and N1.5 million for Level 17 officers. “We call for justice and immediate wage review now, adjust the federal minimum wage to N300,000 and a maximum wage of N1.5m for the Level 17 officers,” the forum stated. The workers said their N300,000 minimum wage proposal was based on an estimated monthly expenditure covering feeding, transportation, accommodation, family support, electricity, cooking gas, phone and data, water and other utilities. “Our projections here are fair, and we believe it can still be accommodated in the present budget based on the daily increased earnings and the excess crude oil sales earnings,” the forum said, linking their demands to the government’s improved revenue position.

READ ALSO:

The FWF said the demand was necessitated by what it described as the incomplete implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024, claiming that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances. “It will surprise you to hear that the Federal Government has not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024. We have been in the battle for full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage,” the group stated. According to the workers, the 2024 wage review increased the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 but resulted in what they described as a flat N40,000 increase across all levels of the federal civil service. “Only N40,000 was added to the salaries of every federal worker across all levels,” the forum said. The FWF argued that the statutory three-year review period should not prevent the government from responding immediately to what it described as an emergency deterioration in workers’ purchasing power, making the case that waiting until 2027 would be catastrophic for workers already struggling to survive.

The workers complained that the rising cost of food, transportation, accommodation, electricity, cooking gas and other necessities had made the N70,000 minimum wage inadequate. “Federal workers have been enduring the situation, and everything has been frustrating and nauseating. We cannot cope again. Federal workers are dying in instalments; we are suffering in silence; our salary is too poor; it is not taking us home,” the letter stated. The FWF further alleged that some federal workers had become heavily indebted to microfinance institutions and digital loan platforms in an attempt to meet their daily needs. “Federal workers are now heavily indebted to microfinances and, most times, federal workers resort to phone loan apps to get transportation to work,” the group said. The forum also claimed that some workers had resorted to using firewood because they could no longer afford cooking gas. It argued that the worsening financial situation could affect workers’ productivity and create conditions conducive to corruption, painting a grim picture of the daily struggles facing federal civil servants.

Amid the growing pressure, the Presidency has signalled a willingness to consider a wage review. In June 2026, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila acknowledged that the N70,000 minimum wage, while a milestone in 2024, must be reassessed against today’s realities. “The N70,000 wage, which was a milestone in 2024, must be honestly reassessed against today’s realities,” Gbajabiamila said. He added that when the review process begins, “this administration will approach that endeavour not as an adversary of labour, but as a partner,” signalling a more conciliatory stance from the government compared to previous wage negotiations.

The demand for a higher minimum wage is not limited to the FWF. The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have also reopened negotiations with the Federal Government, pushing for a significantly higher wage of N500,000. NLC President Joe Ajaero, speaking at the Rights of Workers Summit in Birnin Kebbi, said the current N70,000 wage was no longer sufficient to meet workers’ basic needs. “Anything less than N500,000 cannot cater for workers. The current minimum wage is due for review, and we will soon begin negotiations with the government,” Ajaero said, raising the stakes in the wage debate and setting the stage for potentially contentious negotiations with the federal government.

While labour unions push for N500,000, some stakeholders have described the proposal as unrealistic given Nigeria’s prevailing economic conditions. The Coordinator of the Forum of Delta State NGOs suggested a more moderate range of between N250,000 and N300,000, arguing that the labour unions’ demand may be impractical. The debate highlights the tension between workers’ needs and the government’s fiscal capacity, with the FWF’s N300,000 proposal representing a middle ground between the current N70,000 wage and labour’s more ambitious N500,000 target.

Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris has pledged to champion the unions’ demands at a meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. The governor, who noted that his administration was the first among state governments to implement a N75,000 minimum wage, assured workers that his state would implement any new national minimum wage agreed upon by the Federal Government. His commitment signals that some state governments may be willing to support a wage increase, though the fiscal implications for cash-strapped states remain a significant concern.