On Friday, it was revealed that President Bola Tinubu approved N500 million for the inauguration of the New National Minimum Wage Committee.

This, according to Tinubu, was an initial sum for the 37-member committee. Their original budget, as submitted by George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), was N1 billion.

The lofty sum has drawn criticism from opposition parties and Nigerians, who describe it as financial recklessness and a waste of the nation’s resources.

Earlier, Joe Ajaero, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, said several governors on the committee were paying workers below the minimum wage. For financial context, the approved N500 million budget would pay the salaries of at least 16,666 workers earning N30,000 a month.

If the SGF gets his way and the entire N1 billion budget gets approved for the work the committee would do in February and March ahead of the April 1, 2024, deadline, then they would have spent enough money to pay 16,666 workers for two months. But even if the money went to the workers, they would still be worse off than prison dogs.

PRISON DOGS EAT BETTER THAN MINIMUM-WAGE EARNERS

The minimum salary paid to workers in Nigeria is N30,000 ($20.69) per month. This translates to earnings of N1,000 ($0.69) per day in a 30-day month.

Any worker earning this sum would have to feed poorer than a prison dog to survive a month on such wages. According to Haliru Nababa, Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), security dogs in Nigerian prisons are fed meals worth N800 per day. This is independent of their daily upkeep and maintenance.

On prison security dogs’ food alone, the Nigerian government spends N200 shy of what it pays as the minimum wage. For context, if anyone who earns this sum decides to spend as much as N800 a day on food, they would have just N200 left to transport themselves to work, pay rent, electricity bills, phone bills, other bills, and cater for a family.

READ MORE: Despite Increasing Budget by N1.2 Trillion, National Assembly Cuts Minimum Wage and Salary Allocations by 45%

According to WageInicator, an online tracker for global minimum wage changes, Nigeria’s minimum wage falls below those of Ghana, Morocco, Seychelles, Kenya and several other African countries.

Country	Minimum Wage ($)
Morocco	368.39
Seychelles	289.39
South Africa	239.39
Algeria	150.03
Egypt	127.72
Kenya	125.29
Libya	100.13
Ghana	61.15
Angola	32.79
Nigeria	20.69

Despite having one of the continent’s largest economies, Nigeria pays far lower minimum wage than its contemporaries, and the NLC thinks it is worrisome.

FIJ had a telephone interview with a member of the NLC leadership who asked not to be named as the body was in negotiations with the wage committee.

WHAT WE HAVE IS POVERTY WAGE, NOT LIVING WAGE — NLC INSIDER

During this interview, the insider reacted to reports indicating the NLC was demanding N400,000 as the minimum wage. He said the reports were wide off the mark but maintained that the average worker with a spouse and four children would need at least that much to cater for the family and escape poverty.

He said, “An average family of six cannot spend anything less than N400,000 per month. Consider the price of a bag of rice, beans, garri, education for children, house rent, calls, data and more.

“What we are asking for is for the minimum wage to be a living wage.

“The World Bank says an average person should live on $2 per day. For a family of six, that is $12 per day if they are to escape poverty. In a month that would be $360, and that is nearly N500,000.

“Why can’t the Nigerian government pay this? Nigeria makes its money majorly from oil revenue. Now that they have intentionally devalued the Naira, a $1m revenue that was N400 million before is now N1 billion, and the government pays workers’ salaries in Naira.

“Countries like Sudan, CAR and more pay more than we do. Labour creates wealth, and we should be able to pay that labour well. Nations that have learned to focus on labour have benefited from it. Yes, there is debt, but it was not caused by labour but by the government. They are buying yachts and clothes, paying for hotels abroad and looting the money.”

The insider said the NLC would collaborate with the committee to ensure a suitable minimum wage is agreed upon by April 1.

He said, “Since it is a statutory thing, we will collaborate well to ensure a living wage and protect the interests of workers and Nigerians.”