Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, in an interview with GLORIA NWAFOR, speaks on minimum wage discussion, tax reforms, business survival and labour–employer relations.

By 2027, another round of negotiations for a new national minimum wage will take place. How prepared are employers, and what are your expectations from organised labour?
We have already started the process. We are setting up and signing off on policy working groups so we can begin addressing issues that may arise. We don’t wait until problems occur before engaging. As we approach 2027, when negotiations for a new minimum wage will resume, we are already working behind the scenes, including engaging the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for capacity building.

The idea is to fully understand the issues before we get to the national minimum wage committee. You will hear more discussions this year around minimum wage versus living wage and where Nigeria is headed in the debate.

Beyond figures, we must focus on four critical issues affecting workers: transportation, food, shelter and education, especially public education. Once public schools are fixed and trusted, workers’ expenses will reduce significantly. At that point, the wage earned will actually be sufficient to live on. That is what we are focusing on in 2026.

Let it be on record that we absolutely support decent wages and decent jobs. Our Responsible Business Conduct project, launching in 2026, reinforces this position: businesses must be responsible to workers, the government, and all stakeholders.

What is NECA’s position on the new tax laws that took effect on January 1, 2026?
If the government’s overall objective is to grow output and create jobs through a strong private sector, then policies, levies and fees that stifle businesses are contradictory. Unemployment fuels insecurity. Yet, some agencies continue to introduce multiple charges that undermine productivity.

On the reform itself, we must ask critical questions: Will it grow the economy? Will it help SMEs expand? Will it make the business environment more hospitable?
Today, an average business in Nigeria pays over 90 different taxes, levies and fees. That is not conjecture; it is reality. So, when a reform seeks to streamline taxes, reduce multiplicity, simplify compliance, give concessions to employees and provide reliefs to employers, it deserves support.

We should move forward. As genuine concerns emerge, amendments can be made. But refusing to move at all would be a crime against the country. While we support the reform, we will also not hesitate to speak up if there are gaps that need correcting.

Given the challenges businesses faced last year, do you have any impact assessment data?
Businesses were severely challenged and some did not survive. However, it is important to note that many did not completely shut down; they changed their line of business.

For example, during COVID-19, several of our members moved into logistics, using their trucks and buses to deliver essential goods. To an outsider, it may appear the original business died, whereas it simply transformed.

Going forward, NECA intends to focus more on proper data management – on businesses, employers and employees – so we have clearer insights into what is actually happening in the economy.

What are the implications of the ban on alcohol sold in sachets and small bottles?
The ban poses serious risks. It could lead to significant job and investment losses across the value chain. A blanket ban is not the appropriate response to concerns around the products.

Such a move may encourage smuggling, especially given that Nigeria has more than 1,000 unmanned entry and exit points. We must ask: where do the lost jobs fit into the government’s broader economic objectives?
Rather than banning, we should strengthen institutions – our schools, social systems and regulatory frameworks. Ignoring unemployment, lost investment and the signals sent to investors is dangerous. The ban also creates additional pressure for law enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Labour and the wider economy.

As part of the tripartite body involving government, employers and labour, where do you align with organised labour, and where do you disagree?
We have enjoyed a constructive relationship with organised labour. Where we disagree is on actions that violate established dispute-resolution frameworks. Institutions such as the Industrial Arbitration Panel and the National Industrial Court exist to regulate labour relations, and we must respect them.

Any action that undermines these structures is something we will not support, regardless of our views about the institutions themselves. They are tripartite mechanisms created to guide us.

Where we align is on decent work, the national minimum wage, and workers’ welfare. On a living wage, we support the idea in principle, but we want the ILO to define clear parameters. Even at the ILO level, discussions are still evolving.

We also strongly aligned with labour on the proposed amendment to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Act. At the Senate public hearing, it was almost as if we adopted each other’s positions because we understood what was at stake for the country.

Ultimately, our goal is balance—between workers affected by inflation and employers burdened by high interest rates and operating costs. That balance must be realistic, sustainable, and supportive of jobs and economic growth.