There is no reason we can’t have N500,000 minimum wage but the level of productivity in the economy cannot support it – Moghalu

Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, stated that the Nigerian government could pay a minimum wage of N500,000 if the country had a robust production economy.

However, due to the current lack of such an economy, the government can only afford a minimum wage between N75,000 and N100,000. This statement comes during ongoing negotiations between organized labor and the government on increasing the minimum wage.

Posting on X, Moghalu wrote: “In the debates on the national wage in Nigeria we miss the fundamental point: there is little or no productivity in the economy. If we had a truly productive economy, there is no reason we can’t have the kind of minimum wage of 400 or 500K that labour wants. But we can’t, because the level of productivity in the economy cannot support it.

“Remember, the minimum wage is not just about government salaries. There are not more than 2, at most 3 million civil servants in Nigeria. It is even more about what is paid in the private sector, to household staff, etc.

“All of this is why, all things considered, including avoiding a minimum wage that multiplies already ravaging inflation (assuming such a wage can even be paid), I recommend a minimum wage of between N75,000 and N100,000.”