Saturday July 05, 2025
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a strong warning to the National Assembly, threatening mass mobilisation if lawmakers proceed with plans to transfer labour matters — including the national minimum wage — from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, made the declaration on Friday during the Central Working Committee’s National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Ajaero described the proposal as “an exercise in futility,” arguing that globally, labour issues — especially the minimum wage — are regarded as national matters in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
He accused federal lawmakers of trying to “bastardise” the minimum wage structure and shift responsibility to states.
“The National Assembly should not go into this exercise in futility unless members are also willing to allow their states to determine their own salaries,” Ajaero said.
“If they attempt to smuggle labour matters into the concurrent list, we will mobilise workers nationwide to resist it — even up to election day.”
He further warned against the proposed creation of state industrial courts, which he said would undermine the standardised adjudication of labour disputes and breach international labour protocols.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Ajaero reaffirmed labour’s commitment to defending Nigerian workers, noting that the current law pegging the minimum wage at ₦70,000 allows states to pay more — but not less.
“There is no law preventing any state from paying more than the minimum wage,” he said. “In fact, many states currently do so.”
He also stressed that allowing states to independently determine minimum wages would jeopardise worker welfare, deepen inequality, and roll back decades of progress in labour protection.
On local government autonomy, Ajaero called for the Supreme Court to give a clearer interpretation of its earlier ruling, urging proper constitutional enforcement to ensure financial independence at the grassroots level.
The NLC president concluded with a call to lawmakers to act in the best interest of citizens rather than political expediency, vowing that labour would resist any attempt to erode the hard-won rights of Nigerian workers.
