The presidency on Thursday said that plans are underway to alter the current national minimum wage configuration because the current economic situation has made the baseline salary unsustainable.

Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this while speaking in Abuja during an event organized by a group called Working People United.

According to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the present N70,000 threshold established under President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2024 is no longer sufficient to meet the practical economic demands faced by citizens across the nation.

He said that the current fiscal environment has necessitated a thorough re-evaluation of what constitutes a living baseline for Nigerian workers.

He said the “N70,000 wage, which was a milestone in 2024 must be honestly reassessed against today’s realities,” signaling a strong commitment from the executive arm to reopen discussions surrounding statutory labor compensation.

He assured organized labour groups that the administration does not view workers as adversaries but rather as key contributors to the progress of the country.

He emphasized that the government plans to approach the upcoming negotiations with a high level of empathy and cooperation.

“I can confirm to you that when the time comes to begin the process of reviewing the national minimum wage, this administration will approach that endeavor not as an adversary of Labour, but as a partner,” he said.

He re-iterated the commitment of the president to human capital development and fair treatment of the workforce.

“President Tinubu has said time and again that the custodians of the nation’s machinery deserve a fair and commensurate wage, and as you all well know by now, this is the president who means precisely what he says and does exactly what he means,” he said.

While appealing to labour unions and workers to maintain a peaceful posture, he added that sustainable national growth requires an ongoing collaboration rather than perpetual conflict.

“It must be said that good governance is not a performance stage by government for the benefit of a passive audience, it’s a partnership between those who govern and those who are governed,” he added.

He added that the relationship between the ruling political class and the working population remains the most crucial foundation for industrial harmony.

“No where is that partnership more vital than the relationship between government and the working people of Nigeria,” he added.

He appealed directly to union leaders to choose the path of dialogue over strikes and industrial actions, which often cripple the national economy.

“It is with this understanding in mind that I ask the leaders of organized labour and the members of working people united to remain what you have so often been at your finest, partners in progress rather than antagonist in perpetuity, let us choose to dialog over disruption, because as we have proved again and again, we achieve far more when we visit together than when we retreat, retreat to our separate corners,” he said.