Gani Fawehinmi Group Launches ‘Wage Watch’, Challenges Nigerian Govt To Show What New Minimum Wage Can Buy | Sahara Reporters

However, it said Nigerians should begin asking questions about the basis, methodology and adequacy of any proposed wage before an announcement is made.

The Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organization (GAFAMORG), through its Civil Justice Legacy Project, has launched an initiative to scrutinise the purchasing power of any new national minimum wage that may be announced by the Federal Government.

The organisation, in a statement issued on Thursday, September 17, 2026, said the initiative, tagged “October 1 Wage Watch 2026,” would assess any new wage based on its impact on workers’ purchasing power and living standards rather than the size or political presentation of the figure.

The statement was signed by Comrade Babatunde Agunbiade, Chairman of the Governing Council, and Comrade Ade-Adewunmi Adeoye, PRO, GAFAMORG Civil Justice Legacy Project.

GAFAMORG stressed that it was not claiming that the Federal Government would announce a new minimum wage on October 1, nor making any allegation about the government’s intentions.

However, it said Nigerians should begin asking questions about the basis, methodology and adequacy of any proposed wage before an announcement is made.

According to the organisation, “the announcement must not become the argument.”

GAFAMORG noted that the current national minimum wage of ₦70,000 was established in 2024, while subsequent economic developments and statements by organised labour and other stakeholders had renewed discussions about workers’ purchasing power and the need for another review.

The organisation said different figures had already entered public discussions, making it necessary to assess not only the amount eventually announced but also what it could actually purchase.

“A larger figure on a payslip does not automatically mean a living wage,” GAFAMORG said.

“Food, transportation, rent, energy, healthcare and other essential costs determine the real value of wages. If those costs continue to rise faster than wages, a nominal wage increase can quickly lose its purchasing power.”

GAFAMORG’s Living-Wage Test
The organisation said any new minimum wage should be subjected to a transparent public-interest assessment.

It said Nigerians should ask how much was being proposed and how the figure was calculated, as well as what economic data and cost-of-living assumptions supported it.

It also called for an assessment of what the proposed wage could actually buy after accounting for food, transportation, housing and energy costs.

Other questions raised by the organisation include what mechanism would protect workers when inflation and essential costs rise again, who participated in determining the figure and how transparent the process was.

GAFAMORG also asked when the next review would take place and whether there would be a credible mechanism for regular review or indexation to relevant cost-of-living indicators.

The organisation called on the Federal Government to publish the methodology and economic assumptions behind any proposed wage.

“Show Nigerians the calculation. Do not merely announce the conclusion,” it said.

GAFAMORG also urged organised labour to ensure that workers were not reduced to spectators in negotiations over their wages.

“The central question should not be merely how much government can afford to give. It must also be what a Nigerian worker needs to live with dignity,” the organisation said.

GAFAMORG Warns Against Politicising Wage Debate
The organisation further appealed to Nigerians not to allow any future wage announcement to become a partisan political battle.

It said citizens should apply the same test regardless of whether the eventual figure was ₦100,000, ₦150,000, ₦200,000, ₦300,000 or another amount.

GAFAMORG said its October 1 Wage Watch 2026 would monitor developments, examine publicly available evidence and present Nigerians with an independent Living-Wage Test for any new minimum wage announcement.

“We are not against a wage increase. We are against the idea that the size of an announcement should end the national conversation,” it said.

The organisation concluded: “The government may announce the wage. Nigerians must examine whether it is a living wage.”

It added: “A higher number is not automatically a higher standard of living.”