₦70,000 Minimum Wage Fails to Guarantee Decent Living, Cannot Buy Rice or Pay Average Rent — ASSBIFI Demands Living Wages, Social Protection
The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has described the ₦70,000 national minimum wage as inadequate to guarantee a decent standard of living for Nigerian workers.
The union made the position known in Lagos on Wednesday during its commemoration of the 2026 World Day for Decent Work, where it called on the Federal Government to take urgent measures to reduce the rising cost of living and improve workers’ welfare.
Acting National President of ASSBIFI, Fanimokun Adesina, said Nigerian workers deserved wages capable of supporting their families and providing them with a dignified standard of living.
According to him, the current minimum wage is grossly insufficient to meet workers’ basic needs.
“We demand an end to indecent work. The worker deserves living wages, not the ₦70,000 stipend that does not take the worker to the bus stop,” Adesina said.
He added that workers needed wages that would improve their living standards, alongside social protection capable of guaranteeing dignity and security after retirement.
Adesina described as “absurd” a situation where the national minimum wage could neither purchase a bag of rice nor cover the monthly rent of an average family.
He said the inability of the minimum wage to provide basic necessities, including adequate food and housing, underscored the difficult economic conditions confronting workers and their families.
“A situation whereby the national minimum wage cannot buy a bag of rice is absurd; a situation where the national minimum wage cannot pay monthly house rent for an average family of six is absurd,” he said.
He further argued that workers should be able to afford basic necessities without being pushed into extreme financial hardship.
“A situation where the national minimum wage cannot provide three square meals for an average Nigerian family of four for two weeks is nothing but slavery. Workers are not slaves; we must be treated with the dignity that decent work reflects,” Adesina added.
ASSBIFI Calls for Urgent Measures to Reduce Cost of Living
The union urged the Federal Government to urgently implement policies aimed at easing the financial pressure on workers.
It specifically called for measures to reduce the cost of food, transportation, healthcare, housing and education, while also strengthening national security.
ASSBIFI maintained that improving workers’ welfare should go beyond the payment of wages and include broader social protection measures that would enable workers and their families to maintain a dignified standard of living.
FG Moves to Review Labour Laws
Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment said it was pushing for a review of relevant labour laws to reflect changing workplace practices.
The Zonal Director, Southwest and State Controller of the ministry, Mrs Mienye Badejo, disclosed this in a goodwill message at the ASSBIFI event.
Badejo, who was represented by a ministry official, Mrs Franca Shaabu, said technological developments and changing employment arrangements were reshaping workplaces, particularly in the banking and insurance sectors.
She said the ministry would continue to engage critical stakeholders and advocate the review of existing labour laws to make them compatible with emerging hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
“The ministry will continue to liaise with all critical stakeholders and push for the review of relevant extant labour laws to make them more compatible with emerging hybrid and flexible working arrangements,” she said.
The development comes amid continued concerns from organised labour and other stakeholders over the rising cost of living and the ability of existing wage levels to meet workers’ basic needs.