Bayo Onanuga, a media aide to President Bola Tinubu, says South Africa’s national minimum wage is higher than Nigeria’s, underlining the so-called giant of Africa’s abject poverty. 

“Nigeria is a very, very poor country,” Mr Onanuga said in an interview with ARISE TV on Monday night.

The presidential spokesman stressed that Nigeria is a poor nation with exaggerated wealth.

“I will tell (you) why I say we are a poor country. I think we have a wrong impression of the wealth of our country. It is exaggerated,” Mr Onanuga said.

Mr Onanuga added, “Start from minimum wage: when you compare our country to South Africa. South Africa’s minimum wage is about $240 per month. 

“Nigeria’s N33,000 minimum wage is just about $39. Look at the gap. And you can see this reflects in other wages.”

On Monday, the Nigeria Labour Congress slammed President Bola Tinubu for mistreating workers.

Mr Onanuga’s statement came amid calls by the Nigeria Labour Congress for a minimum wage review in the face of rising inflation eroding the value of the naira. 

Meanwhile, NLC and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria have issued a 14-day nationwide strike notice to Mr Tinubu’s government. 

The notice was over Mr Tinubu’s failure to implement the 16-point agreement it reached with organised labour on October 2, 2023, following the removal of the fuel subsidy, which has led to untold hardship for workers and citizens.