The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticized state governors advocating for the decentralization of salaries, calling their proposal hypocritical and contradictory to the centralized nature of their own remuneration.
NLC President Joe Ajaero made this statement during the 112th International Labour Conference in Geneva. Ajaero argued that if governors are pushing for decentralized salaries for workers, they should first accept decentralized salaries for themselves from the Federal Government.
The governors’ proposal, which aims to allow states to set salaries based on their financial capabilities and economic realities, has been met with resistance from the NLC.
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The Congress fears this could lead to wage disparities across the country and undermine national standards for worker welfare.
He said, “Is it the source of payment? Is it coming from their purse? What are they saying, because minimum wage is like having a uniform law in the country?
“Are they now saying give us the right to run a kind of confederate system of government or permission to run a unitary system of government so that whatever we generate we spend it?”
“Let them tell us, we will tell them how and where they can get money from their states. It’s not about waiting on the Federal Government to collect money,” he added.
The Acting Director of Media Affairs and Public Relations of the Governor’s Forum, Halima Ahmed, stated that governors cannot afford to pay a minimum wage of ₦60,000.
She explained that implementing such a wage increase would deplete many states’ monthly allocations from the Federation Account solely on workers’ salaries.
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