Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige has urged the incoming administration of President‑elect Bola Tinubu to review Nigeria’s current minimum wage of N30,000. Ngige, who was part of the committee that raised the minimum wage from N18,000 to N30,000 in 2019, said the wage should be reassessed every five years to reflect the prevailing standard of living. Speaking on Channels Television’s *Politics Today* on Wednesday, he said his handover notes will recommend that discussions on a new minimum wage begin as soon as the new government is sworn in in May 2023, with implementation slated for May 2024. The review, he explained, will involve the public sector, private sector and state governments, following the tripartite negotiation framework embedded in the 2019 law, which mandates an automatic review every five years. “From 2019, when the wage took effect, to 2024 will be five years. We also recommended that negotiations start a year before the new wage takes effect,” Ngige said. He envisages the formation of a new minimum‑wage review committee by May 2023 and will include this recommendation in his handover to the transition committee.
Ngige also noted that the Federal Government has approved a pay rise for civil servants, set to take effect on 1 January 2023 and already incorporated into the 2023 budget. The increase, he said, was deemed necessary given the country’s economic realities, although President Muhammadu Buhari has yet to sign off on the exact percentage. “In the Presidential Committee on Salaries we have proposed a percentage for the President to approve. We have approved it at our committee level and recommended it take effect from 1 January 2023,” he explained.
While acknowledging the challenging economic environment, Ngige praised the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign policy for delivering “sound benefits.” Although he admitted the rollout was not smooth, he said the policy has curbed insecurity—bandits and kidnappers are “on holiday” due to the cash crunch—and helped reduce vote‑buying during the recent elections.
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