Renowned lawyer and human rights activist Femi Falana has stated that all states in Nigeria have the financial capacity to pay the minimum wage, citing the funds generated from the removal of fuel subsidy.
He made this assertion on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
Falana emphasized that the funds accrued from the fuel subsidy removal, as announced by President Tinubu, are sufficient to cover the minimum wage payments. He warned that any defaulting states would face legal action, emphasizing his commitment to ensuring that workers’ rights are protected.
According to Falana, “There is no state in Nigeria today that cannot pay more than the minimum wage… The government removed fuel subsidy last year, and President Tinubu told Nigerians that the money made from that policy will be used.
“Any state government or employer of labour that does not pay the national minimum wage, we have agreed this time around (our law firm and the labour unions) we are not going to allow the non-payment of wages. They will be dragged to court.
“We are going to ensure the law is complied with, including the fact that we will be paying the court to make an order, deducting what belongs to the workers monthly from the source in Abuja. We cannot go like this.”
This is coming against the backdrop of the federal government’s agreement with organized labour over the payment of a new national minimum wage for workers.
Labour which embarked on an indefinite strike had called it off on Tuesday following negotiations and agreement.
The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, had demanded N464,000 as a new minimum wage but the government proposed N60,000.
