The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected a proposed ₦100,000 national minimum wage, describing it as insufficient and far below what Nigerian workers require under current economic conditions.

The reaction follows a proposal by Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider increasing the minimum wage from ₦70,000 to ₦100,000 during a meeting with governors in Lagos.

Speaking in an interview, NLC spokesperson Benson Upah described the proposal as “thoughtful” but argued that it does not reflect Nigeria’s present economic realities.

He cited rising inflation, increased electricity tariffs, higher fuel prices, tax adjustments, and the weakening naira as factors that have significantly eroded workers’ purchasing power.

According to him, a more realistic minimum wage should be around ₦1 million.

“We consider it thoughtful of the Kwara State governor to propose this, but certainly, ₦100,000 falls far below the realistic figure,” he said.

“Given the realities around the exchange rate, inflation, raised tariffs, the surge in the pump price of petrol and associated costs… the realistic figure would be ₦1 million.”

Upah also referenced increased government revenue allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), arguing that wage adjustments should be manageable given available national resources.

The proposal comes amid ongoing debates over Nigeria’s wage structure following the June 2024 approval of a ₦70,000 minimum wage by President Tinubu, which replaced the previous ₦30,000 benchmark approved in 2019.

The current law also provides for periodic review every three years, keeping wage negotiations a recurring issue between labour unions and the government.