Federal Government Calls Labor’s N250,000 Minimum Wage Demand ‘Unrealistic’

The Presidency said that the demand from Organized Labor for a minimum wage of N250,000 is not sustainable, noting that the Federal Government cannot allocate all its resources to meet such a high demand.

This comes after the government offered N62,000 minimum wage to the the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) but the organized labor fears this amount is not enough for Nigerian workers in this economy. In fact, the organized labor considered this offer, made on May 28, as an insult to the workers.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga noted on Sunday that the demands from NLC and TUC should consider the broader impact on all Nigerians, adding that such huge resources can't be allocated to them, highlighting that they represent less than 10% of the country's population.

"That is why we keep telling labor to be realistic because the government cannot use all its resources to pay workers. They have other things to do," he said, Punch reported.

Onanuga added, "Many people are self-employed or engaged in the private sector, who are not members of Labor, and are not affected by this demand."

The special adviser further said that the federal government consulted with the private sector and others before making the offer. Despite this, Organized Labor, which represents employees rather than employers, consistently rejected the N62,000 offer, which they deemed insufficient.

"Let us wait and hear what they are going to say after their return from the ILO conference. But they have to be realistic," he added.

President Bola Tinubu announced on Democracy Day last week that the federal government and labor groups had agreed on a new national minimum wage, adding that an executive bill would soon go to the National Assembly to finalize the agreement.

However, the acting president of the NLC Adewale Adeyanju said that no agreement has been reached by the Tripartite Committee, which is responsible for advising and suggesting a national minimum wage that fits Nigeria's economy.