Rising Cost of Living: FG Signals Fresh Review of N70,000 Minimum Wage

Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu

Rising Cost of Living: FG Signals Fresh Review of N70,000 Minimum Wage

The Federal Government has announced plans to reassess Nigeria’s N70,000 national minimum wage, acknowledging that the benchmark set in July 2024 no longer adequately reflects the country’s current economic realities. The disclosure came from the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, during the Good Governance Summit 2026 in Abuja, signaling a significant shift in the administration’s approach to workers’ compensation as inflation and living costs continue to surge.

The government’s admission marks a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s labour landscape, with officials now openly conceding that the wage floor established less than two years ago has been eroded by persistent inflationary pressures. Speaking at the summit organised by Working People United (WoPU) on Thursday, Gbajabiamila emphasised that the Tinubu administration remains committed to ensuring workers’ wages keep pace with economic conditions. He recalled that President Bola Tinubu approved the N70,000 minimum wage in July 2024, more than doubling the previous N30,000 benchmark that workers had endured for years, and described that approval as a historic milestone in the nation’s labour history.

“The N70,000 wage, which was a milestone in 2024, must be honestly reassessed against today’s realities,” Gbajabiamila declared, noting that the administration had already shortened the wage review cycle from five years to three years to allow salaries to be adjusted more frequently in response to changing economic circumstances. He further explained that the government had in January 2025 revised the review cycle to two years, effectively making 2026 the next formal review period, demonstrating a proactive approach to wage adjustment that departs from the rigid five-year cycles of previous administrations.

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The Chief of Staff stressed that the government would approach the upcoming negotiations “not as an adversary of labour, but as a partner,” urging organised labour to continue engaging through dialogue rather than confrontation. He maintained that cooperation would produce better outcomes for both workers and the economy than industrial action, adding that the administration has already implemented other worker-centric interventions since January 2026, including the reintroduction of gratuities for retiring federal civil servants and lifting workers earning up to N800,000 annually entirely out of the personal income tax net.

Organised labour has already begun positioning for the upcoming talks, with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) announcing plans to formally engage the Federal Government for a fresh round of negotiations. The unions insist that workers deserve a “genuine living wage” that reflects the country’s current harsh economic realities, citing soaring inflation, rising food prices, transportation costs, expensive housing, and increasing healthcare expenses as factors that have significantly eroded workers’ purchasing power since the N70,000 benchmark was established.

In a joint address at the 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva, labour leaders rejected any proposal to tax the minimum wage or impose additional fiscal burdens on low-income earners. They warned that taxing the minimum wage would worsen poverty and deepen economic hardship at a time when many citizens are struggling to meet basic needs, insisting that the government must instead focus on creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and generate sustainable employment opportunities.

“We demand nothing less than a genuine living wage that reflects today’s harsh economic realities. We also demand immediate relief measures by governments at all levels until a new minimum wage is signed into law,” the unions stated in their communiqué. The labour leaders confirmed they would formally open discussions with the federal government ahead of the July 2026 wage renegotiation deadline to avoid the delays that have often hindered previous minimum wage reviews, signalling a more aggressive and organised approach to the upcoming negotiations.

The current wage regime is set to expire in 2027, but the government had earlier in January 2025 announced that the minimum wage would be reviewed every two years, effectively making 2026 the next review period. This accelerated timeline reflects the administration’s recognition that economic conditions can shift dramatically within short periods, necessitating more frequent adjustments to protect workers from the eroding effects of inflation.

Also speaking at the summit, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, underscored the importance of measuring governance effectiveness by how policies improve citizens’ lives. According to Dingyadi, governance goes beyond policy announcements and should result in decent jobs, higher productivity, stronger social protection, and expanded economic opportunities for Nigerians, and he emphasised that the true test of any administration lies in its ability to translate policy documents into tangible improvements in the daily lives of working people.

“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,” Dingyadi stated. His remarks underscored the administration’s broader vision of inclusive growth where workers are not merely beneficiaries but active participants in the nation’s economic transformation.

The debate over wage review comes amid growing concerns about Nigeria’s economic trajectory, with stakeholders urging a comprehensive approach to addressing workers’ welfare. Some experts have called for an automatic wage adjustment framework that accommodates inflation, arguing that frequent negotiations are unsustainable and that the labour market should adjust in line with other economic markets, thereby reducing the political tensions that often accompany wage review cycles.

However, the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has cautioned against arbitrary wage increases, warning that politically driven adjustments could destabilise businesses and worsen unemployment. NECA Director General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, insisted that minimum wage negotiations must be grounded in “economic realism” rather than political pronouncements, arguing that the country’s fragile macroeconomic environment makes arbitrary wage fixing dangerous, and urging both government and labour to consider productivity and business sustainability alongside workers’ welfare.

The National Coordinator of WoPU, Williams Akporeha, described Nigerian workers as the foundation of the country’s economy, stressing that sustainable national development depends on their welfare and productivity. “There’s no economy without the working people, there’s no productivity without the working people, and there’s no national development,” he declared, framing the welfare of workers as inseparable from the broader goals of economic growth and national prosperity.

Akporeha also warned that WoPU would serve as a major sensitisation force heading into the 2027 general elections, describing the movement as “a grassroots volcanic movement” that bridges the gap between policies made in Abuja and the lived realities of Nigerians across the country. He indicated that the organisation would educate and mobilise workers around issues of governance and accountability, ensuring that political candidates are held to account for their promises to the working class.

The Federal Workers Forum has also joined the chorus, announcing plans for a nationwide protest to demand an immediate review of workers’ wages and improved welfare. The forum described the current minimum wage as “inadequate” in view of prevailing economic realities and called for urgent review to reflect the rising cost of living, warning that failure to address workers’ concerns could lead to widespread industrial unrest.

As the July 2026 review window approaches, Nigerian workers and their unions are gearing up for what promises to be intense negotiations over a new wage structure that could reshape the country’s labour landscape for years to come. With both government and labour signalling openness to dialogue, the stage is set for a critical test of Nigeria’s social partnership framework and its capacity to deliver meaningful improvements in the lives of millions of working Nigerians.