‘Some Governors Will Bastardize It’

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has rejected the idea of a decentralized minimum wage negotiation which would allow state governors to negotiate differently from the federal government.

In rejecting the idea, the secretary of the NLC in Oyo State, Adebayo Aribatise, expressed concerns, noting that some state governors would bastardize the opportunity and it may also cause a disadvantage for workers.

Instead of decentralization, the NLC expressed support for the federal government to continue to champion the process while the state governors key into the agreement.

The position of the NLC was made known in response to suggestions from some political figures who have been advocating for decentralized discussions regarding minimum wage.

“The fact remains that the law binds states to pay national minimum wage. It is expected that the federal government will continue to set the minimum wage. If not, some governors will continue to do as they like.

“Some governors will bastardise the agreement if we allow it and junior workers will continue to earn nothing worthwhile,” Aribatise said.

Meanwhile, Abia North Senator, Orji Uzor Kalu, has advocated that the federal government should pay more than ₦62,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

The former Governor advocated that President Bola Tinubu should make the minimum wage ₦90,000 because civil servants need good treatment and the minimum wage has not been increased in the last five years despite the inflation in the country.

Kalu also said that although the President has done well in certain aspects of the economy, it is obvious that Nigerians are hungry, and more needs to be done in the area of food production.