Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has called on the National Assembly to swiftly approve a law to establish a revised minimum wage that aligns with the current economic situation in the country, similar to how they recently did for the national anthem.
According to him, the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 had expired making it crucial for the government at all levels to review and pass a new law to that effect.
“Pursuant to the National Minimum Wage Act 2019, the national minimum wage was fixed at N30,000. By virtue of section 3(4) of the Act 2019 the national minimum wage expires after five years, and it shall be reviewed in line with the provisions of this Act.
“Since the commencement date of the Act was the 18th day of April 2019, the national minimum wage of N30,000 has since expired.
He added that the Federal Government had announced an additional N35,000 wage award (wage subsidy) for six months, following the removal of the fuel subsidy. starting from 1 September 2023.
However, the Federal Government turned around to offer a minimum wage of N48,000 which led to the commencement of an indefinite strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress due to the failure of government and other employers of labour to pay a realistic new minimum wage to Nigerian workers.
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Falana continued, “However, it has been reported that the leaders of the National Assembly have intervened in the planned strike.
“The National Assembly should, therefore, speedily pass a new National Minimum Wage Act like the new National Anthem Act that was enacted within 48 hours, last week.”
