The Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Chris Onyeka, says many state governors are flouting the Minimum Wage Act because they do not believe in the sanctity of the law.

Onyeka stated this in an interview with Journalists on Monday, highlighting the issue of minimum wage law implementation across the country.

According to Onyeka, while workers are eagerly awaiting a new minimum wage to be passed into law, 15 states are yet to implement the current N30,000 wage enacted in 2019. [1] Even with the increased revenue from fuel subsidy removal, these states still refuse to pay workers the minimum wage as required by law.

The states yet to implement the minimum wage, in defiance of the 2019 Act, are Abia, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Gombe, Niger, Borno, Sokoto, Anambra, Imo, Benue, Taraba, and Zamfara.

Onyeka explained that "A state governor who does not believe in the sanctity of the laws will have a high proclivity to disobey them." [1] He added that many governors see state resources as their own and are unwilling to share with the workers who create the wealth.

The labour leader reiterated the need to cut the cost of governance, reduce political appointees, and align the salaries and allowances of elected officials with those of civil servants. [1] He also called for stronger law enforcement mechanisms to compel states to obey the minimum wage law, including sequestering federal allocations and empowering the judiciary to issue enforceable orders against defaulting states.

Onyeka maintained that the right to strike is a legal recourse for aggrieved workers, and the federal government must protect this right.