“Nigerian Workers Deserve ₦500,000” — Sowore Makes Bold Minimum Wage Demand

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has called for a national minimum wage of at least ₦500,000 per month for Nigerian workers.

Sowore made the call in a statement posted on his verified handle on Friday, while backing the ₦500,000 wage demand recently made by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

The two labour centres made the demand during the Nigeria Rights of Workers Summit held on Thursday in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.

Sowore said the proposed wage was necessary and long overdue, given Nigeria’s current economic conditions and the rising cost of living.

He urged Nigerians to support and elect political leaders who prioritise workers’ welfare, rather than those who, according to him, have consistently treated workers’ interests with disregard.

Reacting to the unions’ position, Sowore said it was encouraging that the NLC and TUC had arrived at a position similar to one the AAC had advocated previously.

He said, “Nigerian workers deserve a national minimum wage of no less than N500,000. The demand is both necessary and long overdue in the face of the country’s economic realities and soaring cost of living.”

Sowore argued that with the labour unions now united around the demand, attention should shift from declarations to implementation.

He called for collective action to ensure that Nigerian workers ultimately receive what he described as a living wage of at least ₦500,000 monthly.