N70,000 Minimum wage: Nigerians react, lament high cost of living

On Thursday,18th of July, 2024, President Bola Tinubu approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers, with a commitment to review this amount every three years.

The announcement was confirmed by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

President Tinubu revealed the new minimum wage during a meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the presidential villa in Abuja. Key attendees included Joe Ajaero, the president of NLC, Festus Osifo, the president of TUC, and various relevant ministers.

In addition to the minimum wage increase, Onanuga mentioned that President Tinubu would soon review the four-month salary arrears owed to university staff across the country.

This wage adjustment comes at a time when Nigerians are grappling with the high cost of living, driven by inflation and economic challenges. Many citizens have expressed concerns that the new wage is insufficient to alleviate their financial burdens.

What Nigerians are saying

David Onyemaizu

Minimum wage: 70,000 Naira Exchange rate conversion: 1 dollar/N1,600 = $44. A bag of rice: 76,000 for the cheapest brand. So, if a bag of rice is taking 100% of your living wage monthly, what happens to other important factors of your life apart from food? You folks are not hungry & angry enough.

Ikuku Nenye ndụ

If you think 70,000 naira ($41) is good enough for someone to be paid after working for a month, remember someone out there in U.S, Canada, U.K and the likes are earning this per hour, for some people it’s their 2 hours pay while it’s 30 minutes pay for some people (high earners). That amount is a Peanuts compared to what those guys in Government earn. It should not be accepted !!!

Eke Kevin Ọbúmnẹmẹ

“Read the news today saying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a.k.a Jagaban has approved 70,000Naira as the new Nigerian minimum wage. In my own view at least it’s better than nothing, it’ll help the economy as well & also best to the previous 33,000Naira. I hope NLC accepts it for now.”