In a recent interview with Channels Television, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, emphasized that the federal and state governments have the capacity to pay the national minimum wage if they recover looted funds.
According to Falana, state governments that claim to be financially strapped simply need to muster the political will to collect and recover the funds.
Falana made these comments in response to the ongoing dispute between organized labor and the federal government over the minimum wage.
The federal government has rejected the N62,000 offer proposed by labor, and the Tripartite Committee on the New Minimum Wage has been meeting to negotiate a new wage.
The committee has made some progress, with labor reducing its demand from N494,000 to N250,000 and the federal government increasing its offer from N60,000 to N62,000.
However, a final agreement has yet to be reached, and the proposed minimum wage may not be implemented until July 2 due to the National Assembly’s holiday.
Falana’s call for action highlights the need for political will to address social and economic issues in Nigeria.
He believes that recovering looted funds could provide the necessary resources to pay the minimum wage and improve the overall economic situation in the country.
