₦70,000 Not Enough, NECA Demands States to Pay Higher Minimum Wage

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has challenged state governments to raise workers’ pay beyond the current ₦70,000 minimum wage, insisting that the sharp rise in federal revenue makes it untenable for states to continue to hold back while citizens grapple with soaring living costs.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, NECA’s Director-General, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, stressed that the recent surge in allocations to the Federation Account had effectively removed the excuse for states not to review wages upward.

“So, no state really has an excuse in the context of the current reality to stay at that ₦70,000, especially with people struggling with the price of petrol. While many states are still doing a lot with the CNG buses, we think more still needs to be done,” he said.

Smatt-Oyerinde highlighted the urgent need to tackle food security and housing, warning that ₦70,000 in its current value is not enough to sustain the average household.

“A lot still needs to be done with the context of food security and shelter. Once you deal with that, the conversation would not really be about minimum wage because the quantum of that ₦70,000 will be able to buy enough for an average household. So it’s not about the quantum. It’s about what exactly the ₦70,000 can buy,” he explained.

According to him, prioritising workers’ welfare is not only a moral responsibility but also a key driver of productivity and economic stability.

“While we are not directly involved in the core, the real dynamics of the state, the socio-economic challenges that they have, it is important to also state that the workers, either in the public or private sector, are very key drivers of the economy of any state and a very key driver of even the private sector.

“And whatever will improve productivity will increase motivation, especially within the context of the reforms that we are ongoing. You know, if you are hungry, or if you’re not really composed, you’re hungry, you have shelter issues, you have transport issues, hardly would you be productive at work,” Smatt-Oyerinde said.

He further reminded governments that their civil service must be regarded as the “engine” that sustains governance.

“So if you see it from that perspective, you realise then it becomes important for you to address the issues that concern that engine.

“And that’s the perception of the private sector because the workers in the private sector are quite critical to productivity, critical to growth of the private sector, and that is the perception we have, that workers are important, then let’s treat them as the ILO said that workers are not commodities,” he added.

The NECA position comes as more states move to review their minimum wage. Following President Bola Tinubu’s signing of the National Minimum Wage Act in July 2024, which raised the wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000, some states have already gone beyond the benchmark.

On August 27, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State approved a new minimum wage of ₦104,000 for civil servants, while Ebonyi State followed a day later with an upward adjustment to ₦90,000.