A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yusuf Ali, has called for the autonomy of states in negotiating wages with their employees, aligning this with the principles of federalism.
He stated this against the backdrop of the newly approved minimum wage of N70,000 by President Bola Tinubu which was also passed into law on Tuesday by the National Assembly.
Ali argued that the current system of a uniform national minimum wage did not account for the economic disparities between states, which could lead to adverse outcomes such as job losses and financial strain on less affluent states.
Recall that the Southern Governors’ Forum, for instance, has expressed a desire for states to negotiate wages independently, a position that highlights the ongoing tension between regional autonomy and national cohesion in Nigeria’s federal system.
Labour unions, on the other hand, staunchly opposed this move, arguing that it could lead to disparities in workers’ pay and conditions across different states.
