U.S. Govt Says Nigeria’s N70,000 Minimum Wage Fails to Lift Citizens Out of Poverty
The United States government has stated that Nigeria’s newly increased minimum wage of ₦70,000 is insufficient to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty. This assessment was included in the U.S. Department of State’s 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released on August 12, 2025. The report emphasized that the minimum wage, currently equivalent to about $47.90 per month, has been significantly undermined by the ongoing devaluation of the naira.
Despite the Nigerian government’s efforts to revise the National Minimum Wage through the 2024 amendment, the U.S. report concludes that the new wage is still below the poverty line. It further highlights that wage law enforcement remains weak across the country. According to the report, the law mandates a national minimum wage for public and private sector employers with 25 or more full-time employees, but it excludes seasonal agricultural workers, part-time staff, commission-based workers, and others. In reality, many Nigerian employers fall below the 25-employee threshold, leaving a vast number of workers unprotected. Several states have also refused to implement the law, citing financial challenges.
Additional labor rights such as a 40-hour workweek, two to four weeks of annual leave, and holiday or overtime pay are provided under the law, yet agricultural and domestic workers are excluded. Moreover, terms like “premium pay” and overtime are not clearly defined, and although the law prohibits excessive compulsory overtime for civilian government employees, enforcement is inconsistent.
The report criticizes the federal government’s poor enforcement of labor regulations, including those related to minimum wage, working hours, and occupational safety and health. Penalties for non-compliance are described as weak and rarely enforced, especially when compared to penalties for crimes like fraud. The Ministry of Labor and Employment, which is charged with enforcing these laws, reportedly lacks sufficient labor inspectors to ensure widespread compliance.
While the law technically allows labor inspectors to conduct unannounced inspections and initiate penalties, the report notes that most enforcement actions require a formal complaint to be filed with the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. This procedural barrier has limited the effectiveness of labor protections. With an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the Nigerian workforce operating in the informal sector, the report concludes that the vast majority of workers remain beyond the reach of labor protections, further weakening the impact of the minimum wage law and associated regulations.
