26 June, 2026.
In the grand theatre of Nigerian politics, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has perfected the art of managing perception over reality. As the 2027 general elections draw closer, the party has unveiled what can only be described as a calculated game plan: dangle a shiny object before the masses to distract them from the slow suffocation being engineered through policy. The renewed discussion on the national minimum wage is the latest act in this political drama.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, recently acknowledged that the current ₦70,000 minimum wage no longer reflects economic realities and confirmed the administration's readiness for an upward review . On the surface, this sounds like a responsive government listening to the cries of the working class. The Nigeria Governors' Forum has even suggested a new figure of ₦100,000, which has been met with fierce resistance from organised labour .
The National Secretary of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, Gbenga Olowoyo, rightly described the governors' proposal as "a charade" and an illegal attempt to usurp the constitutional process of wage determination . He argued that any group attempting to fix a national minimum wage from their "comfort zone" without recognising the economic hardship workers endure should be regarded as "comedians" . This is no laughing matter.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has made its position clear. Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC President, has stated that a realistic figure, given the current exchange rate, inflation, and the surge in petrol prices, would be in the region of ₦1 million . While some may dismiss this as excessive, it forces a necessary question: what is the true value of any wage when the purchasing power of the naira has been systematically destroyed? A wage that cannot feed a family, pay rent, or provide transport is not a wage at all; it is an insult.
The smokescreen of the minimum wage debate obscures the real agenda. This same government is planning the total removal of the electricity subsidy. Under the 2026 budget framework, the federal government will no longer bear the burden alone; the costs will be shared with state and local governments . This is not a removal; it is a cost-shifting exercise designed to pass the pain to states and, ultimately, to the people. Senator Adeola Olamilekan has openly called for the complete elimination of electricity subsidies to free up revenue, a move that analysts warn will push tariffs higher and deepen economic hardship . This is the hidden tax waiting to be unleashed.
Furthermore, the newly enacted tax reform bills, which came into force on January 1, 2026, are being wielded as a post-election sword . While the government claims the reforms will improve the tax-to-GDP ratio from a paltry 13.5% to 18% by 2027, the implementation of the harsher provisions has been conveniently delayed . This is the classic "bait and switch." The administration seeks to take credit for passing the laws now, while deferring the pain of their full implementation until after the elections, when they hope to be safely returned to power.
This political sophistry has its roots in a cynical worldview. As the political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli observed in The Prince, "The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present." The APC seems to be operating on this principle, promising relief now but preparing to deliver only more hardship later. The Nigerian worker is being asked to survive on a wage that has been defeated by inflation, while simultaneously being prepared for a future of higher electricity tariffs and steeper taxes.
The reality on the ground is grim. Nearly two years after the ₦70,000 minimum wage was signed into law, at least 20 states have yet to fully implement it . The federal government, which enacted the law, has watched this violation with "studied indifference" . Meanwhile, the economic reforms have resulted in petrol prices climbing from ₦800 to over ₦1,300 per litre, food prices more than doubling, and housing remaining beyond the reach of the average worker . The government has removed the cushion while refusing to build the safety net.
The APC's 2027 game plan is transparent. It is a strategy of deception and suffocation. The minimum wage review is a political placebo, administered to calm the populace while the bitter pills of subsidy removal and tax hikes are held back for the post-election period. The government has admitted its problem is "communication failure" rather than policy failure . But the Nigerian people are not fools; they feel the pain of policy in their daily lives, regardless of how it is communicated.
As the noted economist Thomas Sowell once stated, "There are no solutions, only trade-offs." The Nigerian government is asking its people to accept the trade-off of temporary hardship for long-term gain. However, the trade-off seems to be a one-way street, with workers bearing the brunt of the sacrifice while the promise of gain remains perpetually on the horizon. The true measure of governance is not the rhetoric of reform but the reality of implementation.
The workers who keep this nation running, who teach its children, nurse its sick, and collect its refuse, have waited long enough. Their patience is not infinite, and it should not have to be . As the 2027 elections approach, Nigerians must look beyond the political smokescreen and see the government for what it is: a party more skilled at managing narratives than managing the economy. The time for political games is over. What Nigeria needs now is sincerity, vision, and leadership that works for the people, not against them.
Mohammed Bello Doka can be reached via [email protected]
Abuja Network News
Tags
Opinion