IBY
Peterside Rejoice Eneky
You Can’t Afford a Bag of Rice”: Minimum Wage Now ‘Inconsequential’ – Labour
the 2025 May Day celebration, traditionally a time for honouring workers’ contributions, has instead become a national cry for help. From Lagos to Yenagoa, Ebonyi to Benue, state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) echoed the same lamentation: Nigerian workers are drowning in economic hardship, and the N70,000 minimum wage is no longer enough to survive.
In cities and rural communities alike, civil servants and labourers say they are burdened by surging inflation, spiraling food prices, and worsening public services.
Fuel subsidy removal, a fluctuating naira, and unrelenting hikes in taxes and tariffs have wiped out any gains the new minimum wage might have brought. For many workers, the pain is not just financial it is existential.
“You can see the face of the Nigerian worker wrinkled, tired, defeated,” said Prof. Oguguo Egwu, NLC Chairman in Ebonyi State. “The government speaks of prosperity while we live in poverty.”
The introduction of a N70,000 minimum wage last year was initially hailed as a step forward. But that celebration has turned bitter. In Niger, Rivers, Ogun, and across several states, labour leaders say the wage has been overtaken by economic realities. A bag of rice now sells for over N80,000 in many markets, transportation has tripled in cost, and healthcare is increasingly out of reach.
“The minimum wage is an illusion,” said Julius Laye of the Bayelsa TUC. “It doesn’t even cover basic healthcare, let alone food or school fees. We are worse off now than ever.”
In Ogun State, TUC Chairman Akeem Lasisi pointed to a widening gap between workers’ salaries and the cost of living. “Some still earn N30,000 without medical care, pensions, or even union rights,” he said. “How is that a celebration?”
Despite President Bola Tinubu’s earlier pledge to implement not just a minimum wage, but a living wage, labour unions say workers have only suffered more since he assumed office. The May 2023 fuel subsidy removal triggered an inflationary storm that, by all accounts, has yet to subside.
NLC leaders are now demanding an immediate review of the wage structure and stronger social safety nets. “We are not asking for luxury just to survive,” said Alex Agwanwor, NLC chairman in Rivers. “Review the wage again, now.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in a statement released to mark May Day, acknowledged the hardships workers face. He promised that the 10th National Assembly would prioritise pro-labour legislation and work with the Executive to address wage concerns. “No Nigerian worker will be victimised for seeking their rights,” Akpabio said.
But for many union leaders, words are not enough. In Imo, Oyo, and Lagos, leaders argue that government policies though couched in reformist rhetoric are out of touch with the day-to-day suffering of Nigerian citizens.
“We thought subsidy removal would help us,” said Saheed Olayinka, NLC Chairman in Kwara. “But it only worsened things. The government has failed to cushion the blow.”
From teachers who skip meals to make ends meet to healthcare workers who cannot afford hospital bills, the Nigerian worker’s story is one of resilience in the face of economic despair. Yet hope lingers in the voices of union leaders, in the silent resolve of civil servants, and in the determination to keep pushing for a better deal.
“Every government comes and goes,” said Imo’s NLC Chairman, Chigaemezu Nwigwe. “But the worker remains. We will continue to fight.”
As the drums of May Day fade, Nigeria’s workers await more than promises. They await action.
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