NigeriaPoliticsFight for New Minimum Wage Ends As Tinubu Sets Benchmark at N70,000 

President Bola Tinubu has approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers, a significant increase from the previous minimum wage of N30,000. This comes after months of struggle by labour unions, who had demanded a new minimum wage of over N200,000.

The labour unions, led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), had embarked on a series of strikes and protests to press home their demand for a new minimum wage.

Despite the initial resistance from the government, the labour unions persisted, proposing a new minimum wage of N615,000, but finally settling for N250,000.

However, after a series of negotiations, the President approved a new minimum wage of N70,000, topping N8,000 to the N62,000 proposed by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage tasked with recommending a new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers across both public and private sectors.

The President’s decision was announced in a statement by his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, who said that there would be a review of the minimum wage every three years.

According to Ngelale, the President’s decision to approve the new minimum wage was based on his commitment to improving the welfare of Nigerian workers.

“You challenged the thinking faculty of leadership, and we have reviewed the position. I have consulted widely, and when the tripartite committee submitted their reports, I reviewed them again and started to think and rethink,” he quoted President Tinubu as saying.

“I am going to move from the tripartite committee. I am going to edge a little bit forward, looking at the review that we have done. Yes, no one in the federal establishment should earn less than N70,000. So, we are going to benchmark at N70,000.”

The new minimum wage has been welcomed by the NLC and the TUC.

As per Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga, “the Labour leaders applauded President Tinubu for the fatherly gesture.”