The government of the United States has said that currency devaluation in Nigeria has reduced the value of the N70,000 minimum wage, making it lower in value and insufficient to lift citizens out of poverty.
According to the 2024 country reports on human rights practice, the new minimum wage at N70,000 is equivalent to $47.90 per month, and rarely effectively enforced by the Nigerian government.
Also, some states, according to the report are declining to implement the minimum wage law, citing financial constraints, adding that the number of labor inspectors was insufficient to enforce compliance.
In its Country Reports on the U.S. department of state website dated August 12 on Human Rights Practices for 2024, released by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, the report noted that the new wage, pegged at about $47.90 per month, had lost its value due to the naira trading at over N1,500 to the dollar. It added that firms with fewer than 25 workers did not benefit from the wage increase.
According to the report, between 70 and 80 per cent of Nigeria’s working population operates in the informal economy, where authorities fail to enforce wage, hour, and Occupational Safety and Health laws.
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