N1m Minimum Wage Will Collapse Nigeria’s Economy, Ajaero Warns

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has warned that raising Nigeria’s national minimum wage to ₦1 million without addressing the country’s economic challenges could collapse the economy.

Ajaero made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, October 29, 2026, amid renewed discussions over workers’ salaries and the rising cost of living.

“N1,000,000 minimum wage will collapse the Nigerian economy,” the NLC president said.

He argued that Nigeria’s problem goes beyond the amount workers receive as salaries, stressing that the government must prioritise restoring the purchasing power of the naira and reducing the cost of essential goods and services.

According to Ajaero, a substantial increase in wages would not necessarily improve workers’ living standards if inflation continued to erode the value of their earnings.

He maintained that workers needed a stable currency and an economy in which their salaries could adequately cover basic necessities, including food, housing and transportation.

The labour leader’s comments come as Nigerian workers face mounting financial pressure from rising petrol prices and other living expenses. Labour unions have repeatedly argued that the current ₦70,000 national minimum wage, signed into law in July 2024, is insufficient to meet workers’ basic needs under prevailing economic conditions.

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Ajaero’s position does not amount to an endorsement of the existing wage level. Rather, he has argued that wage negotiations must be accompanied by measures that tackle inflation and improve the value of workers’ incomes.

The NLC has also pushed for fresh minimum-wage negotiations, insisting that discussions should begin before the current wage agreement expires in 2027. The union has maintained that the government should not delay the process while workers continue to struggle with rising costs.

The debate has intensified following the Federal Government’s approval of a ₦70,000 monthly transport allowance for eligible public servants for six months, beginning in November 2026. The arrangement followed a conciliation meeting with the NLC.

The allowance has, however, generated disagreement within organised labour, with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) rejecting the temporary intervention and calling instead for a more substantial salary increase.

Ajaero’s warning adds another dimension to the debate over how Nigeria can improve workers’ earnings without worsening the economic pressures affecting households, employers and government finances.

The central issue, according to his argument, is not simply how high the minimum wage should be, but whether workers’ earnings can retain enough value to provide a decent standard of living.

No new national minimum-wage figure has been agreed upon by the Federal Government and organised labour as of Thursday, October 29, 2026.