Nigerian Governors Propose ₦100,000 New Minimum Wage

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has pushed for a new national minimum wage of ₦100,000.

The position of the Governors was made known on Friday by the NGF Chairman and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

He said the Governors endorsed the proposed figure as they recognized the need to improve workers’ welfare amid rising living costs..

According to him, the state governments are actively engaging with the federal government and labour unions to reach a sustainable agreement.

The call is expected to shape ongoing negotiations on wages, inflation and broader economic measures.

AbdulRahman added that the Governors also endorsed the economic reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Naija News reports that the statutory national minimum wage is currently officially set at ₦70,000 per month under the National Minimum Wage Act and approved by President Tinubu.

However, some state governments like Lagos, Rivers, and Imo are paying higher than the ₦70,000 standard.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked the Federal Government to urgently review workers’ salaries in the new year, citing escalating inflation and worsening hardship across the country.

In his New Year address to workers, the President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, said workers’ earnings must reflect a living wage and not merely support survival.

“Given the escalating inflation and suffering, we demand an urgent wage review as a worker’s income must guarantee life, not mere survival, in furtherance of Mr President’s promise to pay living wages. We shall pursue this with every legitimate means at our disposal,” Ajaero said.

The labour leader acknowledged that 2025 was a particularly difficult year for Nigerian workers, marked by economic strain and deepening vulnerabilities.