A single Nigerian worker living in an urban centre needs at least N372,300 every month to meet basic living expenses, according to an analysis by The Guardian, a figure that is more than five times the current national minimum wage of N70,000.
Breakdown of Monthly Expenses
The breakdown covers housing, food, transport, healthcare, utilities, personal care, clothing and a monthly savings contribution. Housing takes the largest share at N125,000 per month, based on an annual rent of N1.5 million for a one-room apartment.
Transport follows closely at N99,000, calculated on an average daily commuting cost of N4,500 over 22 working days. Food costs come to N47,670 monthly, using the National Bureau of Statistics' healthy meal cost of N1,589 per adult per day.
Other Essential Costs
Other line items include N15,000 for utilities, N20,000 for personal care, N30,000 for clothing and N3,958 for health insurance. The analysis also sets aside N32,326 each month for savings, which would grow into a contingency fund of roughly N1.164 million over three years.
Falling Real Wages Ahead of 2027 Review
The figures arrive as Nigeria prepares for its next national minimum wage review in 2027. The real value of workers' earnings dropped by about N2.79 trillion in 2024 to N25.48 trillion after accounting for inflation, underscoring the widening gap between pay and the cost of living.
Organised labour has said it will push for a N1 million monthly minimum wage in the upcoming negotiations. Employers, for their part, have called for any new wage to reflect productivity levels and business costs. At the last round of negotiations, labour put forward proposals ranging from N615,000 to N1 million for a six-member household. Those talks eventually produced the N70,000 minimum wage that President Bola Tinubu signed into law in July 2024.
Labour's Position and Next Steps
Deputy National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Adewale Adeyanju, said labour's N1 million proposal would be anchored on current economic conditions and specific parameters that would be presented during the negotiation process. The next round of talks is expected to bring together the federal government, employer groups and organised labour.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has signalled it is gearing up for a major nationwide campaign to secure a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage, with the union also committing to fight for the creation of a national minimum pension. NLC president, Joe Ajaero, made the announcement recently during the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.
