President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero, has disclosed that the union will soon open negotiations with the Federal Government on the need to raise the minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
The current minimum wage of N70,000 is no longer sufficient amid the prevailing economic situation in the country, Ajaero said at the weekend.
The NLC president spoke during the Rights of Workers Summit in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, over the weekend, saying the union will demand an upward increase in workers’ wages to N500,000.
His remark is coming amid a recent promise by the Presidency that the Federal Government is considering raising the minimum wage in the country for workers to align with current economic realities.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, CoS, Femi Gbajabiamila, made the promise last month at the Good Governance Summit 2026, organised by Working People United, WoPU, in Abuja.
According to Ajaero, who was represented at the event by the NLC Deputy President, Audu Amba, any wage less than N500,000 would be insufficient to cater for workers in the country.
“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,” he said.
FG Ready to Increase Workers’ Wage — Gbajabiamila
“This administration has delivered a new national minimum wage. In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu signed into law a minimum wage of N70,000, 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.
“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,” he said.
The current minimum wage was approved by President Tinubu two years ago, before then, the least paid public worker in the country earned N30,000 as minimum wage.
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