Keyamo: ₦70,000 Minimum Wage No Longer Enough for Workers

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said Nigeria's ₦70,000 national minimum wage is no longer sufficient to cushion workers against rising living costs and economic pressures.

Keyamo spoke at the 2026 National Pre-Retirement Summit organised by XEM Consultants Limited in Abuja, where he called for improved wages and urged the Federal Government and organised labour to find common ground in ongoing discussions over workers' pay.

The minister, who previously served as Minister of State for Labour and Employment, recalled the negotiations that preceded the increase in the national minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 in 2024.

He said the purchasing power of the current minimum wage had been eroded by changing economic conditions and that workers needed an upward review of their wages.

“I think they still need to increase the minimum wage. It might not be what Labour wants or in terms of the extent to which they want it, but somehow we have to meet Labour midway,” Keyamo said.

Reports from the summit said organised labour was seeking an increase of as much as ₦500,000, although no new figure has been agreed by the government and labour.

Keyamo also criticised the treatment of workers in some government institutions, particularly situations where employees allegedly struggle to receive basic allowances while substantial amounts are approved for senior officials' international trips.

“I will have none of it. Without these workers, we will not have a country,” the minister said, stressing the importance of putting workers' welfare at the centre of government policies.

He said human resources remained critical to productivity, effective public service and sustainable national development, arguing that government institutions could not function effectively without adequately supported workers.

Also speaking at the summit, Nigeria Labour Congress President Joe Ajaero called for government measures to cushion workers and other Nigerians against rising fuel, transportation and food costs.

Ajaero argued that wage negotiations should focus not only on the nominal amount workers receive but also on their actual purchasing power.

He said the impact of changes in fuel and food prices could quickly erode the value of an agreed wage and called for mechanisms that would better link wages and pensions to changes in the cost of living.

Ajaero also said discussions on a new minimum wage should begin ahead of the next review cycle, while stressing that workers needed immediate relief from the current economic pressures.

The comments come amid renewed calls for improved workers' pay as organised labour and government continue discussions over wages and measures to address the rising cost of living.