National minimum wage
Figures below refer to 31 July 2026 unless stated otherwise.
The claim
The national minimum wage was raised to ₦70,000, signed into law on 29 July 2024, up from ₦30,000 — but implementation at local-government level has been poor and unions have already reopened negotiations.
Figures
₦70,000 per month, which at ₦1,358.25/$ on 14 August 2026 is approximately $51.50 per month. Around 20 states had not fully implemented for grassroots workers nearly two years on, including Yobe, Zamfara, Gombe, Kaduna, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross River, Borno, Sokoto, Taraba, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Abia, Benue, Niger, Kogi and the FCT Area Councils. Many governors covered state civil servants only, excluding local-government staff, primary teachers and primary healthcare workers. The NLC directed May Day 2026 street protests in defaulting states. By July 2026 the JNPSNC was demanding ₦154,000 and Lagos NLC ₦225,000. Federal workers rejected a proposed ₦100,000 minimum wage in June 2026 and threatened an indefinite strike.
The counter-argument
More than doubling the wage is real; ₦70,000 buying $51.50 a month is also real. Both belong in any honest answer.
Sources
- Tribune — NLC pushes fresh wage reviewtribuneonlineng.com
- Vanguard — NUT threatens states over wage delayvanguardngr.com