19/05/2025
A MUST READ:
₦70,000 Minimum Wage Is Not a Wage—It’s State-Approved Starvation.
Let’s stop deceiving ourselves.
The proposed ₦70,000 minimum wage is not a breakthrough. It's a mockery of reality. At best, it keeps the poor barely breathing. At worst, it is a death sentence wrapped in government applause.
Let’s Break It Down: What Does ₦70,000 Really Buy in Nigeria Today?
Transportation (Work Commute – Monthly): ₦1,500/day × 22 workdays = ₦33,000
Food (Basic, One Adult): ₦1,500/day = ₦45,000/month (That’s just for one person—no spouse, no children.)
Rent (Single Room or Face-Me-I-Face-You in the City): Average ₦150,000/year = ₦12,500/month
Electricity + Water (Even with Rationing): ₦5,000–₦8,000/month
Healthcare, Toiletries & Clothing: ₦10,000/month (conservatively)
TOTAL BASIC COST OF LIVING = Over ₦100,000/month (for survival—not dignity).
So what then is ₦70,000? A salary? No. A livelihood? Definitely not. It’s government-approved poverty.
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In a Sane Country:
Minimum wage is not a random figure. It is a scientific estimate of the minimum cost of human dignity.
Legislatures don’t just debate—they investigate real market data:
Cost of food
Cost of housing
Transportation (by region)
Utility bills and education
Urban vs. rural inflation rates
They run the numbers. They consult economists. They factor in inflation forecasts and purchasing power.
But here, in a nation where lawmakers earn in millions and call ₦70,000 a victory, one wonders:
Who exactly are they representing?
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The Real Issue Is Not Affordability—It’s Priorities.
If we can afford:
₦160 billion for National Assembly renovations
Over ₦70 million per SUV for lawmakers
Billions in “security votes” without audit...
Then Nigeria can afford a realistic living wage.
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What Must Be Done:
We in the Labour Party call for:
A Minimum Living Wage Commission—not political guesswork
Wage policies indexed to inflation, not frozen in time
A national cost-of-living audit—state by state, sector by sector
Let the dignity of labour reflect in the reality of wages—not just in speeches.
Because at ₦70,000, the Nigerian worker is not living.
He’s surviving to die slowly.
—Dr. Onyeisiala Chima Igbo
Publicity Secretary, Labour Party – Imo State
