The former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign organisation in the 2023 election, Doyin Okupe, has faulted the national minimum wage Act, which mandates governors of all 36 Nigerian states to pay a uniform minimum wage to workers in their respective states.
Recall that organised labour and the Federal Government have been arguing about the new minimum wage for several months.
After labour’s ultimatum expired on May 31, the unions embarked on strike on June 3, shutting down businesses across the nation.
The industrial action was suspended on Tuesday after the Federal Government promised to increase the minimum wage to an amount bigger than N60,000 as they resume negotiations.
However, in a statement issued on Friday after its meeting, the state Governors rejected the N60,000 minimum wage, stating that it is not sustainable.
Notwithstanding, the Federal Government increased its new national minimum wage offer from ₦60,000 to ₦62,000 after its meeting on Friday night.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Okupe said all governors should be allowed to decide on the amount to pay in the state.
The former presidential aid said the Federal Government should allow the states and the labour unions at the state level to agree on minimum wage.
He said, “We should not make laws that are un-encompassing that makes it compulsory for all governors in the federation to obey them. They are sub-nationalities on their own.
“I mean for instance, if you pay a minimum wage in Lagos, why should I pay that in Sokoto? Let every governor decide for his own state by his own people that this is what I can afford.”
