Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, claims that with the current economic challenges, Nigerian workers can no longer make ends meet on the N70,000 national minimum wage.
At the 2026 National Pre-Retirement Summit hosted by XEM Consultants Limited, Keyamo made this statement.
Speaking at the ceremony, Keyamo said that an increase in salaries was required because the growing cost of living had reduced workers’ purchasing power.
As a result, he urged the Federal Government to reach a compromise with organised labour in the continuing pay negotiations.
He recalled the talks that preceded the national minimum wage rise from N30,000 to N70,000 in 2024 and claimed that unions were wanting up to N500,000.
However, the minister pointed out that the present minimum wage was still insufficient to cover workers’ economic shocks.
He also attacked how some government institutions handle their employees, especially when basic allowances are denied to workers while high-ranking officials purportedly sanction substantial sums of money for foreign travel.
“I won’t put up with it. We wouldn’t have a nation without these labourers.
“It’s the human element, not the machines or everything you have. No machine will move without that,” he stated.