Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has reacted to rising costs and higher federal allocations to state governments, stressing that governors have capacity to pay above N70,000 national minimum wage.
NECA’s Director-General, Adewale Smart-Oyerinde, said this on BCOS “The Morning Brief” monitored by FRESHPAGE correspondent.
Smart-Oyerinde said that increased inflows from the Federation Account have weakened states’ arguments about affordability. In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage into law after months of negotiations with labour unions and the private sector, raising the floor from N30,000 to N70,000.
Some states have already moved beyond the new threshold. On August 27, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma approved a raise to N104,000; a day later, Ebonyi announced a N90,000 minimum wage with immediate effect.
“No state really has an excuse, given current realities, to stay at N70,000,” Smart-Oyerinde said, citing petrol prices and urging broader interventions. “While many states are rolling out CNG buses, more still needs to be done. A lot still needs to be done on food security and shelter. Once you deal with that, the conversation isn’t just about the quantum, it’s about what N70,000 can actually buy.”
He argued that easing workers’ hardships on food, transport, and housing would boost motivation and productivity. “If you’re hungry, worried about shelter or transport, it’s hard to be productive at work.”
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Smatt-Oyerinde urged governors to treat the civil service as the engine of state administration and address workers’ concerns accordingly, echoing the ILO’s principle that “workers are not commodities.”
