by Nigerian News24 Correspondents
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to raise the national minimum wage, insisting that the current N70,000 benchmark cannot meet workers’ basic needs.
Speaking in an interview, the NLC Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, said rising costs have made survival difficult for many households.
“The truth is that N70,000 minimum wage is not sustainable under the current economic situation. Workers are under immense pressure, and unless the government responds quickly, the crisis of survival will only worsen,” Upah said. He stressed that while the union prefers dialogue, it may resort to industrial action if necessary.
Also weighing in, the President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Shehu Mohammed, praised states that have raised wages, describing them as “eye-openers” for the Federal Government.
“From the onset, our demand was for a living wage, and we proposed N250,000 as a reasonable benchmark. Even electricity bills alone can wipe out N70,000, leaving nothing to sustain a family,” Mohammed said. He urged authorities to complement wage increases with measures to cut living costs, including affordable housing, healthcare, and subsidised transportation.
Meanwhile, labour leaders in Ogun State are considering demanding a new minimum wage of N104,000 for civil servants.
State NLC Chairman, Hameed Benco, and TUC Chairman, Akeem Lasisi, told reporters in Abeokuta that with higher allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration has the capacity to meet the demand.
Lasisi added that organised labour plans to formally engage the governor soon, noting that Ogun could follow Imo State’s example, where Governor Hope Uzodimma recently approved N104,000 as the new minimum wage.