The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has called on state governments to raise civil servants’ pay above the current ₦70,000 minimum, insisting that rising federal revenues leave no room for excuses amid worsening living costs.

NECA’s Director-General, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, stated that higher inflows to the Federation Account meant states could no longer justify adhering to the ₦70,000 threshold while workers faced escalating food, transport, and shelter costs.

“So, no state really has an excuse in the context of the current reality to stay at that ₦70,000, especially with people struggling with the price of petrol. While many states are still doing a lot with the CNG buses, we think more still needs to be done,” he said.

Smatt-Oyerinde stressed that the true measure of wage effectiveness lies in purchasing power.

“A lot still needs to be done with the context of food security and shelter. Once you deal with that, the conversation would not really be about minimum wage because the quantum of that ₦70,000 will be able to buy enough for an average household. So it’s not about the quantum. It’s about what exactly the ₦70,000 can buy,” he said.

He argued that any measure to ease workers’ suffering was vital for boosting productivity and overall economic growth.

‘Hungry Workers Can’t Be Productive’ – NECA Insists

The NECA boss warned that poor welfare undermines productivity in both the public and private sectors.

“You know, if you are hungry, or if you’re not really composed, you have shelter issues, you have transport issues, hardly would you be productive at work,” Smatt-Oyerinde said.

He added that civil servants must be viewed as the “engine that drives the system” and treated with the dignity recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

“So if you see it from that perspective, you realise then it becomes important for you to address the issues that concern that engine. Workers are important; let’s treat them as the ILO said, workers are not commodities,” he noted.

Naijaonpoint reports that NECA’s call comes as some state governors move to raise the minimum wage above the federal benchmark.

In Imo State, Governor Hope Uzodimma, on August 27, approved a wage increase from ₦70,000 to ₦104,000 for civil servants, while in Ebonyi State, the government announced a new minimum of ₦90,000 with immediate effect, up from ₦70,000.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu had, in July 2024, signed the National Minimum Wage Act, raising the national wage floor from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.