The United States government has given a harsh verdict on President Bola Tinubu’s minimum wage increase.
US said that President Bola Tinubu’s minimum wage increase was rendered useless by naira devaluation, leaving millions of Nigerians struggling with worsening poverty and inflation.
This was contained in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2024, released on August 12 by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.
The report noted that the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024 doubled the minimum wage to N70,000 ($47.90) per month but added that currency depreciation placed it below the poverty income level.
It further observed that many Nigerians were excluded from the increment, as some states have yet to implement the new wage, while employers with fewer than 25 workers are not mandated to comply.
“Many employers had fewer than 25 employees, so most workers were not covered. Some states declined to implement the minimum wage law, citing financial constraints,” the report said.
Recall that Tinubu announced the wage increase in July 2024, a year after implementing subsidy removal and exchange rate unification.
At the time, Tinubu said the N70,000 minimum wage would be reviewed every three years instead of five.
