The National Forum of Heads of Federal Government Establishments in Nigeria (NAFOHEADS) has declared that the N70,000 national minimum wage is no longer sustainable due to the rising cost of living.
Speaking in Osogbo on Wednesday during an inter-denominational service to mark the 2025 African Civil Service Week, the Osun State NAFOHEADS Chairman, Mr Samuel Adekunle, said inflation had eroded the value of the minimum wage.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that many civil servants are struggling to cope, adding that the current wage no longer reflects economic realities in the country.
He added that workers’ pains had deepened because of rising inflation, since the minimum wage was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in July 2024 and the implementation began in September of same year.
Adekunle, who is also the Curator, National Gallery of Arts, called on the government to implement a higher national minimum wage for workers in line with the present economic realities.
“The N70,000 minimum wage is not enough for workers in the country due to the escalation of cost of things in the country.
“A new minimum wages should be weighed on the present economic realities in order to meet workers’ needs,’’ he said.
Speaking on the inter-denominational service, Adekunle said it was organised for workers in the state to seek God’s intervention in workers affairs and national development.
NAN reports that the civil service week has the theme. “Federal Civil Service and Sustainable Development in a developing Economy”
