NECA Warns Against Unsustainable Minimum Wage Hikes

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has warned that unrealistic increases in the national minimum wage could threaten business sustainability, undermine compliance and weaken employment generation.

NECA Director-General, Mr Adewale-Smat Oyerinde, stated this at the 2026 Annual Labour Conference of the Labour Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria (LACAN) in Abuja on Thursday, urging the Federal Government to adopt an evidence-based approach to wage determination.

Mr Oyerinde, represented by Mrs Idorenyin Brooks, said wage decisions must balance workers’ welfare with employers’ ability to pay, productivity and prevailing economic realities.

He noted that NECA, through the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria, participated in negotiations that produced the current N70,000 minimum wage.

According to him, wage determination should be guided by reliable data on household needs, wages, prices, productivity and employment, alongside consultations among government, employers and organised labour.

He warned that ignoring economic conditions and employers’ capacity to pay could have adverse consequences for businesses and employment.

Mr Oyerinde also identified high energy and transportation costs, unreliable electricity, multiple taxation, insecurity, limited access to affordable credit and inadequate infrastructure as major constraints affecting businesses and workers’ living standards.

He said addressing these challenges would improve productivity, strengthen enterprises and enable businesses to sustain employment while meeting their obligations to workers.

The NECA director-general called for transparent and properly sequenced economic reforms capable of attracting investment, stimulating job creation and protecting vulnerable households and businesses.

On the future of work, he said Nigeria must prepare its workforce for the growing influence of digital technology and emerging skills. He noted that NECA was investing in workforce development through its ICT Academies in Lagos and Abuja, as well as the Af Xcelerate initiative, which equips Nigerians with skills in artificial intelligence, data analytics and cybersecurity.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, Mr Oyerinde urged political actors and other stakeholders to prioritise employment creation, enterprise development, workers’ welfare, social protection and economic stability over partisan interests.

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Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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