Associations and operators of small businesses in Nigeria have declared that Small and Medium Enterprises across the country cannot pay the N70,000 minimum wage that was recently approved by the Federal Government.
President Bola Tinubu recently approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers and pledged to review the national minimum wage law every three years.
The National Bureau of Statistics stated that at least, 39,654,385 micro, small, and medium enterprises were in operation in Nigeria as of December 2020 as against 41,543,028 million that were in existence in 2017.
Also, the 2023 Social Statistics Report by the National Bureau of Statistics, indicated that Nigeria has seen a significant decline in small-scale industrialists over the past two years due to economic challenges.
Operators said millions of small-scale businesses risk closure, and there is a high tendency to lay off workers because it will be difficult to pay the new minimum wage of N70,000, especially with the hostile economic situation nationwide.
