The federal government’s and Houses of Assembly and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) inaction to pursue legal recourse against governors failing to implement the national minimum wage, threatens to undermine the compliance of the new wage floor.

Recall that establishing a new national minimum wage has been a prolonged issue between the NLC, the private sector and the federal government.

The Tinubu-led administration’s failure to align with the demands of the NLC soon enough resulted in a nationwide protest.

Receiving a delegation from the Kogi state government, on Monday, June 24, the NLC’s president, Joe Ajaero, suggested that the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) will develop implementation strategies following negotiations.

Addressing concerns of certain states not paying the existing N30,000 minimum wage, Ajaero clarified that organized labour had not released a list, as reported by The Guardian.

Ajaero noted that the existing list was compiled and issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.

He stated:

“Once negotiations conclude, we will determine our implementation strategy. The list of states not adhering to the N30,000 minimum wage wasn’t compiled by us but by the Federal Ministry of Finance, which likely explains why Kogi, Anambra, and others are listed….[CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING▶▶]

“While we’ve verified that some states are compliant, others are not. Kogi has informed us they are paying, and we will verify this.”

Onu Edoka, Special Adviser to Kogi State Governor on Labour Matters, expressed dismay over Kogi’s inclusion among non-compliant states.

The special adviser said despite adhering to the minimum wage since Governor Usman Ododo’s tenure began, the state was still listed as part of those that haven’t complied.

Edoka pointed out that the state has pledged to adopt whatever figure is agreed upon for the new minimum wage once the law is enacted.

As of May 2024, reports suggest approximately 15 states, including Abia, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Gombe, Niger, Borno, Sokoto, Anambra, Imo, Benue, Taraba, and Zamfara, are allegedly not implementing the national minimum wage.

This is despite the doubling of allocations from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the past year following the removal of petrol subsidies and the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, there is little indication that salary payments improved across most states, Vanguard reported.

Only Edo and Lagos were reportedly paying above N30,000.