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The short answer
Nigeria's national minimum wage is ₦70,000 a month, set by the Minimum Wage Act signed on 29 July 2024, which also provides for review every three years. It binds employers in Nigeria, with exemptions that, per SCP Law, include part-time and commission workers and establishments with fewer than 25 employees. For most remote professionals hired from Canada it is a floor far below market pay, but it still matters for support staff, payslips and PAYE, because minimum-wage earners are exempt from income tax.
The current figure
The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024 raised the monthly minimum from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000. SCP Law's review (31 July 2024) records that it was signed on 29 July 2024 and shortens the review cycle to every three years. DLA Piper's payroll note of 28 August 2026 still gives ₦70,000 a month as the figure, so as at October 2026 that is the national floor. Some states pay their own workers more; Enugu, for example, approved ₦80,000 for state workers from October 2024, as reported by the Federal Ministry of Information.
Because the Act now provides for review every three years, a new figure could be negotiated from 2027. Check for an amendment before you set budgets for that year.
Who it covers, and who it does not
The minimum wage applies to employers in Nigeria. SCP Law lists the exemptions carried over from section 4 of the 2019 Act:
- part-time workers and workers paid by commission or piece rate
- establishments employing fewer than 25 workers
- seasonal agricultural workers
- workers on vessels or aircraft covered by merchant shipping or civil aviation laws
- domestic workers (as listed by SCP)
Read the small-employer exemption with care. A start-up with 10 staff in Lagos may be outside the statutory duty, but paying below ₦70,000 a month would still be out of line with the national standard and hard to defend to staff. Most employers treat it as the floor regardless.
Remote hires from Canada
| How you hire | Does the Minimum Wage Act bite? |
|---|---|
| Through your Nigerian subsidiary | Yes, the subsidiary is an employer in Nigeria (subject to the exemptions) |
| Through an employer of record | Yes, the EOR is the Nigerian employer and will apply it |
| As an independent contractor of your Canadian company | The Act governs employment, so it does not directly apply; the contract sets the fee |
In practice, rates for developers, designers and analysts hired from Canada are many multiples of ₦70,000. The minimum wage becomes relevant for drivers, cleaners, security staff, junior admin and interns in a Nigerian office.
Worked example
Example only. You hire a part-time office assistant in Abuja through your subsidiary for 20 hours a week. Part-time work is listed as exempt, but you decide to pay at least the full-time equivalent rate. Taking a 40-hour week, ₦70,000 a month is about ₦404 an hour (₦70,000 × 12 ÷ 52 ÷ 40 = ₦403.85). At 20 hours a week that is about ₦35,000 a month as a floor; you set ₦45,000.
For contractors, set the fee by reference to the market for the skill, not the minimum wage. A contract that pays a full-time contractor less than ₦70,000 a month invites the argument that the person is really a low-paid employee, which brings the Labour Act and the Minimum Wage Act back into play.
Tax effect
Under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, effective 1 January 2026, a person earning the national minimum wage or less is exempt from personal income tax, per DLA Piper. Above that, the 2026 bands apply, starting with the first ₦800,000 a year at 0%. A worker on exactly ₦70,000 a month earns ₦840,000 a year, so the exemption matters for them; pay just above the minimum is taxed under the bands. Your payroll provider should apply both rules.
Minimum wage and other pay rules
The minimum wage sits alongside the Labour Act rather than replacing it. Wages must still be paid at intervals of no more than a month, staff are entitled to at least six working days of paid annual holiday after 12 months, and up to 12 working days of paid sick leave a year with a medical certificate. Those rules apply to covered workers whatever their pay. For employers the Pension Reform Act covers, pension contributions sit on top, as does PAYE above the exemption, so the employer's cost of a ₦70,000 role is more than ₦70,000.
Do not use allowances to dress up a low basic. If the contract splits pay into basic, housing and transport, the total should be clear on the payslip, and you should be able to show how the figure compares with the minimum. Staff in Nigeria read payslips closely, and a dispute over whether allowances count is easier to avoid than to win.
Checks for employers
- List every role in Nigeria and its monthly gross.
- Flag anyone at or near ₦70,000, and confirm whether an exemption applies.
- Check state rules where you have staff.
- Set a review date for when the next national figure is agreed.
- Show gross pay and deductions on every payslip.
Where Pryme fits
Salaries in Nigeria are paid in naira. A Pryme Business Account lets you hold CAD and naira, convert with Swap when payroll is due, and pay staff through payroll. For more detail, see PAYE and pension for Nigerian staff and the Nigeria library's minimum wage: who it covers.
Questions people ask
What is the minimum wage in Nigeria in 2026?
₦70,000 a month, set by the 2024 amendment signed on 29 July 2024 and still the figure cited by DLA Piper in August 2026.
Does the minimum wage apply to small businesses?
SCP Law lists establishments with fewer than 25 workers among the exemptions carried over from the 2019 Act. Most employers still treat ₦70,000 as the floor.
Does it apply to contractors I hire from Canada?
The Act governs employment, so it does not directly apply to an independent contractor of a Canadian company. It does apply to a Nigerian subsidiary or employer of record.
Do minimum-wage earners pay PAYE?
No. Under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, per DLA Piper, people earning the national minimum wage or less are exempt from personal income tax.
Sources
- SCP Law: The 2024 Minimum Wage Act, a closer look (31 Jul 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
- DLA Piper Africa: FAQs on payroll taxes and employer liability in Nigeria (28 Aug 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Federal Ministry of Information: Gov. Mbah approves N80,000 minimum wage for Enugu workers (25 Oct 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
- Labour Act full text (Cap 198 LFN 1990, same Act as Cap L1 LFN 2004) · accessed Oct 2026
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