Doyin Okupe, a former presidential spokesman, believes state governors should choose the minimum wage they can afford to pay workers.
Okupe criticized the national minimum wage law, which requires governors to pay the same minimum wage to workers across their states.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today last Friday, Okupe argued, “Laws shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all; they shouldn’t force all governors to comply. Governors have their own jurisdictions.”
“For example, if Lagos pays a certain minimum wage, why should Sokoto be obligated to do the same? Each governor should determine what they can afford for their state, according to their constituents’ needs.”
This development occurs as the Federal Government suggests a new figure of N62,000, while labor revises their request downward from N494,000 to N250,000.
The call for a higher wage prompted labor to start an indefinite strike on Monday, but it was ended on Tuesday.
The strike was suspended to allow further negotiations.
Meanwhile, state governors have expressed concern that they are unable to meet the N60,000 threshold, highlighting that certain states struggle to pay even the current N30,000 minimum wage.
