Federal workers demand N300, 000 as new minimum wage
Lagos, Sept 3, 2026 – The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) has called for immediate review of the national minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000.
The forum made the demand on Wednesday in separate letters to President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The letters were signed by the National Coordinator of FWF, Andrew Emelieze, and General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele.
The forum proposed a salary structure of N300,000 for Level 1 Step 1 workers, rising progressively to N1.5m for Level 17 Step 1 officers.
Under the proposal, Level 2 workers would earn N330,000; Level 3, N360,000; Level 4, N390,000; Level 5, N420,000; Level 6, N450,000; and Level 7, N480,000.
The forum also proposed N510,000 for Level 8; N550,000 for Level 9; N600,000 for Level 10; N700,000 for Level 12; N750,000 for Level 13; N800,000 for Level 14; N1m for Level 15; N1.2m for Level 16 and N1.5m for Level 17 officers.
It said the demand was necessitated by what it described as the incomplete implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024, claiming that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances.
“It will surprise you to hear that the Federal Government has not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024. We have been in the battle for full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage,” it said.
The forum said the 2024 wage review increased the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000, but resulted in what they described as a flat N40,000 increase across all levels of the federal civil service.
The forum said the statutory three-year review period should not prevent the government from responding immediately to what it described as an emergency deterioration in workers’ purchasing power.
“As a matter of fact, it is suicidal for the federal workers to continue in this ugly situation. Hence, based on the current cost-of-living crisis, it can only be a matter of justice that the federal wages be immediately reviewed to meet up with the current economic realities in Nigeria,” it said.
