Ajaero put it in terms no economist could soften: Nigerian workers earning ₦1 million a month are still losing ground if the currency holding that figure keeps collapsing. The NLC president made the remarks in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday, and the message on NLC naira stability was direct: organised labor has stopped chasing bigger numbers and started demanding a currency that holds its value.
The NLC’s position is structural, not numerical. Ajaero told NAN that labour’s real demand is currency stability, not a higher figure that evaporates under inflation before the month ends.
Inflation Is Destroying Nigerian Workers’ Real Income
Rising costs have made it difficult for workers to cover food, transport, and housing, let alone save. Ajaero said the economic situation has not improved, and the burden on workers keeps growing.
A wage figure and what it buys are two different things, and in Nigeria right now, the gap between them keeps widening. That is the NLC’s core argument: nominal increases without currency stability are a political gesture, not an economic remedy.
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Minimum Wage Talks Must Follow the Law, Not Election Cycles
Ajaero pushed back firmly against any rush to renegotiate the minimum wage ahead of the 2027 election cycle. He said the process is governed by law and tied to a specific review timeline. The NLC will initiate talks within the legal window, not on anyone else’s political schedule.
Minimum wage negotiations in Nigeria have a history of becoming political theater; figures were announced as gestures, not the product of genuine bargaining between labour, employers, and government. Ajaero’s insistence on process discipline is a direct signal that the NLC will not play that game this cycle.
He also identified a compliance gap that the headlines have largely missed. The approved minimum wage floor exists on paper across most states, but the salary structures above it, particularly in local government and education, have not been recalibrated to match. Workers are getting the minimum without the corresponding adjustment to the rest of the pay scale.
Fuel Prices, Pension Confusion, and the Road to May Day
Ajaero singled out fuel as the pressure multiplier. Each price movement at the pump transmits directly into what workers pay to commute and what they pay to eat. He called for an energy policy resilient enough to absorb external shocks, one that stops passing every international disruption directly to Nigerian households.
On pension, Ajaero raised an alarm about the proliferation of competing pension unions. Multiple groups have created confusion around deductions and remittances. The NLC has written to stakeholders and is working to convene a meeting that produces clarity and coordination.
Ahead of Workers’ Day on May 1, Ajaero confirmed that any street protests will be targeted and limited to states that have not fully complied with minimum wage implementation. He also commended the federal government for reviewing peculiar allowances and approving a 100% duty tour allowance for civil servants, while making clear that commendation does not equal satisfaction.
Nigeria’s labour and economic pressures are moving fast. GizPulse covers both sides of what the government says and what workers are actually experiencing. Subscribe to the GizPulse newsletter for sourced reporting built for people who need to know first.
