The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and federal civil servants have called for an urgent upward review of the national minimum wage, arguing that the current N70,000 is no longer sustainable. Their demand comes on the heels of bold moves by some states to raise workers’ pay above the N70,000 benchmark in response to the country’s worsening economic situation. In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), labour unions and workers stressed that with inflation soaring and the cost of food, housing, transportation, and other essentials rising daily, the N70,000 minimum wage can no longer meet their needs. It will be recalled that President Bola Tinubu, in July 2024, signed the National Minimum Wage Bill into law, raising the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 for workers in the federal, state, local government, and private sectors. However, on August 27, 2025, the Imo State government announced a new minimum wage of N104,000, alongside a general salary review for civil servants in the state. Speaking to NAN on Sunday in Abuja, the NLC’s Acting General Secretary, Mr. Benson Upah, said galloping inflation has eroded the value of the current wage, leaving many workers struggling to survive “The truth is that N70,000 is not sustainable under the present economic situation. “Workers are under immense pressure, and unless the government responds quickly, the crisis of survival will only worsen. “We have since engaged the Federal Government on this matter at different times and fora,” he said.