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₦70,000 wage inadequate for workers — Keyamo
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has said the N70,000 national minimum wage is inadequate to withstand the economic pressures confronting Nigerian workers.
Keyamo, who spoke at the 2026 National Pre-Retirement Summit organised by XEM Consultants Limited, said the rising cost of living had eroded the purchasing power of workers, making an upward review of wages imperative.
He urged the Federal Government to meet organised labour halfway in ongoing discussions on workers’ wages, noting that unions were demanding as much as N500,000.
The minister, a former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, recalled the negotiations that preceded the increase in the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 in 2024.
He said the current wage was still insufficient to absorb the economic shocks confronting workers.
Keyamo also criticised what he described as poor treatment of workers by some government agencies, particularly situations where workers were denied basic allowances while senior officials allegedly approved large sums for international trips.
“I will have none of it. Without these workers, we will not have a country,” he said.
The minister stressed that national development depended on prioritising the welfare of workers, describing the human factor as central to productivity and effective public service.
“It’s not the machines or everything that you [have]; it’s the human factor. Without that, no machine will move,” he said.
Keyamo said issues affecting workers’ welfare and productivity should receive priority over bureaucratic considerations, urging ministers and heads of government agencies to make workers’ interests a priority.
Also speaking at the summit, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, called on the Federal Government to use increased oil revenues to cushion workers and other Nigerians from the impact of rising fuel prices.
Ajaero said the recent increase in international oil prices had created additional revenue for oil-producing countries and urged the government to deploy part of the gains to support citizens facing higher transportation and food costs.
“As one of the oil-producing countries, they are making trillions because of the problem in the Strait of Hormuz. You can see that oil was pegged at maybe $70 or whatever dollars. It’s $100, so they are making an extra $30 or $40.
“Now, can’t you use this money to embark on some interventionary measures like other countries where this is affected, so that we’ll now be alive till the time when they will say minimum wage?”
Ajaero said minimum wage negotiations should focus on workers’ real purchasing power rather than nominal figures, taking into account inflation, fuel prices, food costs and other economic factors.
“Negotiations are not just figures,” he said.
He illustrated the point by saying that a nominally high wage could lose its value if the prices of basic commodities rose sharply.
“Assuming one naira is equal to $1, I would advise Nigerian workers to remain at ₦70,000 because that would be big money for them, but you can see that you can equally get one million naira and a bag of rice is ₦500,000, so what of that? What happens?”
Ajaero also advocated the indexation of wages and pensions to inflation or the cost-of-living index, arguing that such a mechanism would enable workers’ incomes to adjust automatically as economic conditions change.
“Unless you index it either based on cost of living index or inflation, immediately inflation goes like this, automatically it will adjust to this, as it is affecting pension, so it affects salaries; and those are some of the things that will enable us to agree on something.”
On minimum pension, the NLC president said it should be negotiated alongside the minimum wage because workers and pensioners were both affected by prevailing economic conditions.
He explained that the reduction of the minimum-wage review cycle from five years to three years was intended to allow wages to respond more quickly to changing economic conditions.
Ajaero said the next minimum-wage review was expected around March or April and that discussions should commence early.
“This minimum wage is supposed to expire March–April, so the conversation ought to start early. That’s a three-year cycle,” he said.
He, however, said labour’s immediate concern was how workers could cope with the current economic pressures before the next review.
“But now we are more concerned on ‘give us this day’ — how to survive today before that time. Because these policies of the fuel going up, jumping up, and the Nigerian government is making a whole lot of money from it.”
Ajaero also questioned the effectiveness of government measures designed to reduce transportation and energy costs, including the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) programme.
“Are we even producing enough in terms of food, reliance on food? Now, between that time and now, the most troublesome problem for a worker, which happened to be transportation — the CNG policy, did it work? Where and where can you refill your tank? How many vehicles have been converted to CNG? How many electric vehicles are on the road?”
He said controlling factors such as inflation, transportation costs, food prices and currency pressures would make it easier for workers to cope with prevailing economic conditions.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of XEM Consultants Ltd. and convener of the summit, Dr. Eugenia Ndukwe, said the event was designed to equip senior professionals with strategies and skills for a productive and fulfilling retirement.
Ndukwe said the summit focused on financial management and planning, health and wellness, entrepreneurship and investment, estate and wealth management, as well as agricultural enterprise systems.
She added that digital innovation was changing how people worked and earned income, creating opportunities for senior professionals to remain productive beyond formal employment.
According to her, XEM Consultants partnered Galaxy Backbone to provide participants with digital skills, knowledge and tools to explore opportunities created by technology.
Ndukwe said the summit was aimed at promoting a new approach to retirement in Africa and helping participants develop personalised retirement plans based on their financial circumstances, career goals, health needs and post-service aspirations.
Francis-Xavier Sosu, Ghanaian member of parliament, collapsed on stage while delivering a speech.
Sosu was addressing students at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra on Thursday when he began to show signs of dizziness, according to video posted by Joy Online, a local media outlet.
Pausing his address, the lawmaker attempted to hold on to the podium but was unable to continue his speech or stand upright.
A man and a woman approached the podium from the side of the hall to assist the lawmaker, who later collapsed into their arms as they rushed him out of the building.
A statement issued by Ivan Dzakpasu, Sosu’s chief of staff, said the MP has received the necessary medical attention following the incident.
The statement did not provide details on the nature of the incident, the medical attention received or what may have caused the MP to become unwell.
The statement urged the public to remain calm and avoid relying on unverified reports or speculation about the lawmaker’s condition.
The federal high court in Gombe has nullified the emergence of Isa Pantami as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 governorship election in the state.
The court, in a judgment delivered on Thursday by Amina Aliyu Mohammed, also ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in compliance with its constitution, guidelines and relevant electoral laws.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Usman Garry, a PDP governorship aspirant, who challenged the process through which Pantami emerged as the party’s candidate.
In May, Pantami withdrew from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election scheduled for May 21 in Gombe state.
Pantami attributed his withdrawal from the race to the alleged breaches of the electoral process.
He eventually joined the PDP and emerged as the party’s 2027 governorship candidate in Gombe state.
The former minister secured the ticket through voice affirmation during the party’s gubernatorial primary.
Garry objected to the affirmation of Pantami as the flagbearer of the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led faction and eventually filed a suit against the former minister.
Garry had asked the court to set aside Pantami’s emergence on the grounds that the PDP did not conduct a valid governorship primary in accordance with its rules and applicable electoral laws.
After hearing arguments from the parties, the court had reserved judgment in July.
At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel to Pantami argued that he had validly resigned from the APC on May 19, 2026, before participating in the PDP primary.
The PDP also opposed the suit and urged the court to strike out the case.
Garry’s counsel, however, urged the court to dismiss the objections and grant the reliefs sought by his client.
The court, however, directed the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in accordance with its guidelines and applicable electoral provisions.
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has noted the steady development that Osun State University has witnessed under the current management of the institution.
He said the visible progress under the current Vice-Chancellor, Prof Clement Adebooye, was the main factor considered to approve tenure extension for the VC.
Adeleke, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, asserted on Thursday while addressing the 16th UNIOSUN convocation ceremony held at the main campus of the university in Osogbo,
The governor listed Adebooye’s accomplishments, saying various breakthroughs recorded by the current management had transformed the institution.
Flaunting the multiple achievements in academic and infrastructural growth within the university, Adeleke, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, further said, “In the last four years, 40 main building projects have been constructed and commissioned for use. There is no year that I have not personally come to the campus to commission legacy projects.
“In August this year alone, I commissioned the ultra-modern FIFA-standard Sports Complex, 3-in-1 Science Laboratory Complex, and two landmark Lecture Theatres.
“In addition to these, there have been well over 30 complementary works that include renovations, procurement and supplies, solar installations, etc., all with a view to making teaching, learning and administrative work conducive.
“Of more importance is the sustenance of the long-established culture of peace and industrial harmony in the university. This is why for the past five years, the university has not missed any academic session, nor has it failed to graduate its deserving students as and when due.
“It is on record that UNIOSUN is the second state-owned university to fully implement the 2025 FGN-staff union agreement.
“So, in terms of staff welfare and overall teaching and learning environment, this university remains a model. This is a major commitment of our government to support the responsible and responsive administration that we have put in charge of this university.
“In a bid to sustain continuity of performance and academic excellence, I approved a two-year extension of the tenure of the vice-chancellor with effect from 4th January, 2027 after strategic consultations and compliance with the state law.”
Speaking further on the development, the governor said his pronouncement has, accordingly, been backed up by the amendment to Osun State University Law (2006), passed by the state House of Assembly earlier this month, vowing “to continue to do everything to support the sustenance of academic and administrative excellence in this University.
“It must also be stated very clearly that my decision was well guided and it is rooted in legality, and in the overall best interest of the university.
“Our choice of the new chancellor followed a similar merit-driven thought process, and the innumerable applause from all parts of the world proved us right on Mama BOVAS’ appointment.
“Our resolve to also dissolve and reconstitute the governing council is another product of painstaking review towards accelerating the progressive development of the university. We are therefore not bound by any law or tradition to accept the dictates of any staff union regarding what we think is the best for our university,” the governor insisted.
Rolling out further achievements of the university under the vice-chancellor, Adeleke said, “In this month alone, the current vice-chancellor and his team attracted five major signature projects from the Federal Government and successfully laid their foundations with a view to completing the projects before December 2027.
“This is a vice-chancellor who met a half-alive medical school but diligently worked to ensure that all accreditation requirements by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria were met by the university, and has presented all 90 pioneer MBBS students both for MDCN induction and award of UNIOSUN degrees.
“This is a vice-chancellor who massively expanded the university’s academic landscape, thus increasing the student population from 14,260 in 2022 to 42,791 in 2026.
“This is a vice-chancellor who worked very closely with the great family of Apostle Folorunso Alakija to ensure the completion and commissioning of the 250-bed state-of-the-art Modupe and Folorunso Alakija Medical Research and Training Hospital.
“The hospital has since started full operation. In terms of global impact and visibility, for the first time in 11 years, UNIOSUN emerged as the third-best state university in Nigeria, 19th out of 312 universities in Nigeria, and 137th out of 2,390 universities in Africa,” he posited.
He urged staff and management to join hands with the governing board to continue to take the university to greater heights.
He restated the readiness of his administration towards providing maximum support for improved university governance and service delivery.
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