Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has emphasized that both the federal and state governments have the capability to pay the national minimum wage if they can recover looted funds.
Falana made this assertion during an interview with Channels Television.
He said, “The state governments that are saying they have no money to pay, the money is there. All they need, including the Federal Government, is to muster the political will to collect and recover money either looted or withheld from the federation account,” he added.
This discussion arises amid ongoing negotiations between organized labor and the federal government regarding the new minimum wage. The federal government has rejected the initial offer of N62,000 proposed by the labor unions.
In a recent meeting held by the Tripartite Committee on the New Minimum Wage in Abuja, labor unions reduced their demand from N494,000 to N250,000, while the federal government slightly increased its offer from N60,000 to N62,000.
However, any resolution on the proposed minimum wage is likely to be delayed until after July 2, as the National Assembly is currently on holiday. During the television show, Falana urged Nigerian authorities to demonstrate the political will necessary to pay the minimum wage.
