Labour wants ₦300,000 minimum wage — “₦70,000 can no longer guarantee a decent standard of living”
From ₦70,000 to ₦300,000 — the demand was made to the Labour Minister's face at the ASCSN's NEC meeting in Abuja, with a December deadline behind it.
Key points
- The ASCSN has demanded that the Federal Government immediately raise the minimum salary of federal workers to ₦300,000 a month, from the current ₦70,000 national minimum wage.
- National President Comrade Shehu Mohammed made the demand on Thursday at the association's NEC meeting in Abuja, attended by Labour Minister Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi.
- The demand aligns with the TUC, which renewed the same ₦300,000 call in its 8 October letter. The Federal Workers Forum has warned of nationwide action from 1 December if no agreement is reached.
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has demanded that the Federal Government immediately raise the minimum salary of federal workers to ₦300,000 a month, from the current ₦70,000 national minimum wage.
National President Comrade Shehu Mohammed made the demand on Thursday at the association's National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, attended by Labour Minister Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, who called for dialogue. Mohammed said soaring food, transport, energy and healthcare costs had eroded purchasing power, and urged the government not to wait for the next statutory minimum-wage negotiation cycle, demanding “appropriate consequential adjustments across higher salary grade levels”.
The demand aligns with the Trade Union Congress, which renewed the same ₦300,000 call in its 8 October letter to the government and rejected another temporary wage award.
Separately, the Federal Workers Forum — which first raised the ₦300,000 figure on Monday 10 November, alongside a demand for petrol at ₦500 a litre — has warned of nationwide strikes, protests and rallies from 1 December if no agreement is reached. The 1 December threat comes from the Forum, not from the ASCSN or the TUC.
The demand lands the same week the government announced it had cleared the pension backlog. The follow-up is the government's response, and whether the 1 December threat hardens.
Why this matters
₦300,000 against ₦70,000 is a four-fold demand, made in front of the Labour Minister, with a 1 December strike threat behind it — and every federal worker in Nigeria has a stake in the answer.
Latest developments
First published 12 Nov 2026, 19:18 WAT.
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Sources
- Tribune — ASCSN demands ₦300,000 minimum wage for federal workers (12 Nov 2026)
- BizWatch Nigeria — Labour demands ₦300,000 minimum wage for workers (12 Nov 2026)
- InsideBusiness — ASCSN demands ₦300,000 minimum wage for federal workers (12 Nov 2026)
- Nairametrics — TUC rejects fresh wage award, demands sustainable salary increase for workers (5 Nov 2026)
₦300,000 is a demand, not an agreed figure. The 1 December strike threat comes from the Federal Workers Forum, not from ASCSN or the TUC. The TUC's ₦300,000 position dates to its 8 October letter.