US Says Tinubu’s Minimum Wage Hike Neutralized by Naira Devaluation, Millions of Nigerians Still Trapped in Poverty
The United States government has learnt that President Bola Tinubu’s much-touted minimum wage increase has been rendered ineffective by the steep devaluation of the naira, with poverty and galloping inflation tightening their grip on millions of Nigerians.
PulseNets reports that this was contained in the 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, published on August 12 by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
“The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024 doubled the minimum wage to 70,000 naira ($47.90) per month. Despite the increase, currency devaluation meant the minimum wage was no longer higher than the poverty income level,” the report stated.
According to what the U.S. government told PulseNets, the policy shift has had limited effect because millions of Nigerian workers are not even covered by the new wage structure.
“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.
PulseNets learnt that this revelation comes barely a year after Tinubu announced the wage review, raising Nigeria’s minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 in July 2024. At the time, the president promised that the figure would be reviewed every three years instead of five.
The report further highlighted that Tinubu’s dual economic policies—fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification—have triggered an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, with inflation eroding the purchasing power of households and worsening poverty indicators nationwide.
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While the Tinubu administration had sold the new wage as a lifeline, analysts who spoke to PulseNets argued that the combination of naira freefall, skyrocketing food prices, and weak state compliance has left the increment largely symbolic, offering no real relief to struggling Nigerians.
