The Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have disagreed over when negotiations for a new national minimum wage should begin, with organised labour insisting that preparations must start immediately.
The disagreement followed an exchange of letters between the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Dingyadi, and NLC President Joe Ajaero over the timeline for reviewing the ₦70,000 minimum wage signed into law in July 2024.
In a letter dated 13 October 2026, Ajaero rejected the Federal Government’s position that beginning a fresh review would be premature. He argued that the timetable envisaged under the original National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, remained relevant despite the 2024 amendment.
The NLC president urged the government to begin the process by calling for nominations and inaugurating the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee, which comprises representatives of the government, organised labour and employers.
“The time is now. The appropriate time is now,” Ajaero wrote in the letter shared on Thursday, warning that further delays would worsen the economic hardship facing Nigerian workers.
His response came a day after Dingyadi, in a letter dated 12 October, acknowledged receipt of a communiqué issued after a joint meeting of the NLC’s Central Working Committee and National Executive Council.
The minister said the current minimum wage would become due for review on 1 June 2027. He argued that starting another review barely two years after the implementation of the ₦70,000 wage would be premature and potentially disruptive to industrial relations.
The exchange comes amid growing pressure from organised labour over rising living costs and the declining purchasing power of workers’ earnings.
In an Independence Day statement issued on 1 October, the NLC demanded an immediate reduction in petrol prices, a nationwide wage award and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage.
The statement, signed by Ajaero and titled Our Hope Depends on the Choices We Make and the Actions We Take, linked rising transportation, food, rent and education costs to the erosion of workers’ earnings.
The union also called for the implementation of tax relief measures agreed with the government in October 2023, arguing that workers should not continue to bear the burden of increasing living costs without additional support.
Among its demands, the NLC asked the government to reduce petrol prices to the levels prevailing when the current minimum wage was signed into law in 2024. It also called for negotiations on a new wage to begin before the end of October and for outstanding agreements with health and public sector workers to be implemented.
The union warned that failure to address its demands within the stipulated period would compel it to take further action as directed by its relevant organs.
Responding to the government’s position, Ajaero argued that the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, signed on 18 April of that year, had envisaged a review by April 2024.
He maintained that the 2024 amendment did not erase the original timetable and argued that a new minimum wage should take effect by 17 April 2027.
According to the NLC president, negotiations should begin at least six months before the relevant deadline to allow sufficient time for preparatory work and prevent the accumulation of arrears.
On that basis, the union said the process should commence by 17 October 2026.
The NLC stressed that it was not demanding the immediate implementation of a new minimum wage but was asking the government to begin the administrative preparations and negotiations needed to reach an agreement.
Dingyadi, however, maintained that the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, as amended by the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024, provided for a review every three years.
The disagreement centres on the interpretation of the applicable review timetable, with the government arguing that the next review is due in June 2027, while the NLC insists that preparations should begin in October 2026 to meet its proposed implementation deadline.
