The U.S. government has stated that the naira devaluation rendered President Bola Tinubu’s minimum wage increase useless as deteriorating poverty amid galloping inflation wracks millions of Nigerians.

This was highlighted in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2024, published by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on August 12.

“The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024 doubled the minimum wage to 70,000 naira ($47.90) per month. Despite the increase, currency devaluation meant the minimum wage was no longer higher than the poverty income level,” the report said.

The U.S. also noted that many Nigerians are not beneficiaries of the minimum wage increment, as many states have yet to implement it.

“Many employers had fewer than 25 employees, so most workers were not covered. Some states declined to implement the minimum wage law, citing financial constraints,” the report said.

This comes a year after the national minimum wage increment was announced.

Amid the unprecedented cost-of-living crisis triggered by Mr Tinubu’s dual policies—subsidy removal and exchange rate unification—in July 2024, the president increased the national minimum wage to N70,000, promising it would be reviewed after three years, rather than five years.