Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has indicated that the Federal Government may review workers’ salaries, acknowledging that the ₦70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024 may no longer reflect current economic realities.
Gbajabiamila spoke on Thursday, June 25, in Abuja during an event organised by Working People United, where he highlighted the Tinubu administration’s commitment to improving workers’ welfare.
According to him, the minimum wage introduced last year represented a significant achievement at the time, but changing economic conditions now require a fresh assessment.
“₦70,000 wage, which was a milestone in 2024 must be honestly reassessed against today’s realities,” he said.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives assured workers that whenever discussions on a new minimum wage begin, the government would engage organised labour in a spirit of cooperation.
“I can confirm to you that when the time comes to begin the process of reviewing the national minimum wage, this administration will approach that endeavor not as an adversary of Labour, but as a partner,” he said.
Gbajabiamila added that President Bola Tinubu remains committed to ensuring workers receive fair compensation for their contributions to national development.
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“President Tinubu has said time and again that the custodians of the nation’s machinery deserve a fair and commensurate wage, and as you all well know by now, this is the president who means precisely what he says and does exactly what he means,” he said.
He stressed the importance of cooperation between government and workers, describing governance as a shared responsibility rather than a one-sided exercise.
“It must be said that good governance is not a performance stage by government for the benefit of a passive audience, it’s a partnership between those who govern and those who are governed.
“No where is that partnership more vital than the relationship between government and the working people of Nigeria,” Gbajabiamila said.
The Chief of Staff also urged labour leaders and workers’ groups to continue engaging government through dialogue rather than confrontation.
“It is with this understanding in mind that I ask the leaders of organized labour and the members of working people united to remain what you have so often been at your finest, partners in progress rather than antagonist in perpetuity, let us choose to dialog over disruption, because as we have proved again and again, we achieve far more when we visit together than when we retreat, retreat to our separate corners,” he said.