The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has pledged to oppose any attempt by the National Assembly to remove labour matters from the exclusive legislative list of the Federal Government to the concurrent list, where individual states would determine their workers’ wages.

Ajaero made this declaration on Friday while speaking at the National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting of the Central Working Committee held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Speaking with fellow workers, Ajaero argued that the issue of minimum wage is treated globally as a national matter in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, which regard member countries as entities, not sub-national units such as states.

He alleged that the plan by lawmakers was a calculated attempt to “bastardise” the national minimum wage structure and shift other labour-related responsibilities to the states, including the establishment of state industrial courts that would independently handle wage disputes — a move he said violates ILO principles.

The NLC President, who spoke with newsmen after the meeting, reaffirmed that organised labour would firmly oppose any effort to undermine the minimum wage, calling on lawmakers to uphold justice and protect the interests of the citizens they represent.

Ajaero insisted that states must not be allowed to determine minimum wages independently, warning that such a move would endanger the welfare of average workers across the federation.

He also clarified that the NLC leadership was not aware of any state that had refused to pay the newly approved minimum wage.

“The National Assembly should not go into this exercise in futility unless members also allow their respective states to determine their wages.

“If they attempt to smuggle labour matters into the concurrent list, we will mobilise workers to protest against it, even up to election day.

“All over the world, there is a minimum wage for the protection of workers. In Nigeria, there is legislation for a minimum wage of ₦70,000. The law permits states to pay more than that, and in fact, many states currently pay above the minimum wage,” he said.