Gbajabiamila: N70,000 Minimum Wage No Longer Meets Current Realities

Nigeria's Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, has signaled the federal government's willingness to review the current N70,000 national minimum wage, acknowledging that it no longer aligns with the nation's economic realities.

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The 70,000 naira 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 endeavor not as an adversary of labour, but as a partner.

Speaking at the Good Governance Summit 2026 in Abuja, Gbajabiamila highlighted the administration's commitment to fair wages for workers. He noted that the N70,000 minimum wage, signed into law in July 2024, was a significant increase from the previous N30,000. He also pointed out that President Bola Tinubu reduced the wage review cycle from five years to three to better match economic shifts.

"The N70,000 wage, which was a milestone in 2024, must be honestly reassessed against today’s realities," Gbajabiamila stated. He assured that the government would approach the upcoming wage review process as a partner to labor, not an adversary. President Tinubu, he added, is committed to ensuring that the nation's workforce receives fair and commensurate compensation.

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It must be said that good governance is not a performance stage by government for the benefit of a passive audience. It’s a partnership between those who govern and those who are governed.

Gbajabiamila also stressed the importance of good governance as a partnership between the government and the governed. He urged leaders of organized labor and members of Working People United to embrace dialogue and collaboration over perpetual antagonism. "Let us choose to dialogue over disruption, because as we have proved again and again, we achieve far more when we sit together than when we retreat; retreat to our separate corners," he advised.

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Let us choose to dialogue over disruption, because as we have proved again and again, we achieve far more when we sit together than when we retreat; retreat to our separate corners.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammad Dingyadi, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that governance is measured by its impact on workers' livelihoods, productivity, and dignity, not just by policies on paper.

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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, central of increased productivity, social protection, economic opportunities, and dignity for the working people.