Tinubu’s Chief of Staff Speaks on Nigeria’s Minimum Wage, Federal Government Reopening Negotiations

• Femi Gbajabiamila signalled readiness to negotiate the national minimum wage amid current economic challenges
• The minimum wage, once a milestone, now requires reassessment according to Nigeria's economic realities
• Gbajabiamila spoke on the purported partnership between the current Nigerian government and those in paid employment

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over nine years of experience covering public affairs and governance in Nigeria and Africa.

FCT, Abuja - Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff (CoS) to President Bola Tinubu, has signalled the present administration's readiness to reopen negotiations on the N70,000 national minimum wage.

As reported by Business Day, the former speaker of the House of Representatives stated this on Thursday, June 25, in Abuja at an event organised by Working People United.

'N70,000 wage no longer realistic'

Gbajabiamila noted that the N70,000 minimum wage approved by Tinubu in 2024 no longer reflects the current economic realities in Nigeria.

He said:

“N70,000 wage, which was a milestone in 2024, must be honestly reassessed against today’s realities."

Furthermore, Gbajabiamila explained that when the time comes to begin the process of reviewing the national minimum wage, the Tinubu administration will approach it not as an adversary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), but "as a partner."

Gbajabiamila promises fair wages

His words:

“President Tinubu has said time and again that the custodians of the nation’s machinery deserve a fair and commensurate wage, and as you all well know by now, this is the president who means precisely what he says and does exactly what he means.

“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.

“Nowhere is that partnership more vital than the relationship between government and the working people of Nigeria."

Nigeria's two biggest union federations, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), argued that soaring prices and a weakening currency caused by reforms instituted by President Tinubu were hitting workers hard.

Africa's most populous nation is grappling with one of the worst cost-of-living crises in a generation, stoking fears of Kenyan-style protests that are currently rocking the East African country.

Read more on minimum wage:

• Tinubu's minister mentions when minimum wage will be reviewed
• Minimum wage: NECA shares fears over N70,000 pay, "not a two plus two equals four argument"
• Minimum wage: Actual amount Tinubu allocates for workers' salary in 2025 budget disclosed
• Federal workers kick against N100,000 minimum wage proposal amid economic hardship
• Mauritius, Nigeria, Egypt: Minimum monthly wages across selected 15 African countries in 2026

Labour pushes for minimum wage increase

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Comrade Festus Osifo, the president of the TUC, said that organised labour is pushing for an annual increase in the national minimum wage paid to workers in Nigeria.

The TUC boss stated that members of the organisation, as well as their colleagues in the NLC, have begun talks on the issue.

Source: Legit.ng