Why N100,000 Minimum Wage is Unrealistic, Says Tinubu’s Aide

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has dismissed the possibility of a new minimum wage of N100,000 in Nigeria. He said the country’s economic situation would not allow such a high wage for workers.

Onanuga made this remark during an interview on Arise TV on Monday night. He argued that the Nigerian government would find it hard to pay N100,000 or more as the minimum wage for its employees. He said both the federal and state governments were already struggling to pay the current minimum wage of N30,000.

He said: “The last time the minimum wage was increased to N30,000 per month under President Buhari, 26 out of 36 state governments could not pay it. Only 10 are paying. The rest have either not paid the full amount or have made some adjustments. According to the monitors, 26 state governments are not complying. What will happen if we increase the wages to N100,000? Will the Federal Government be able to pay?”

He added that the financial position of the governments was weak. He said the last budget showed that the government had low revenue, high debt, and a huge deficit. He said the debt servicing was taking up 97% of the revenue, according to the Buhari budget.

He said: “This country was already broke. The government removed the subsidy, hoping that it would ease the pressure on our finances. And it is easing. But the budget deficit is still N6trillion, compared to N14trillion that the Buhari government had planned for 2023.”