NLC in a statement, warned the state governors against further inflammatory statements concerning the minimum wage to avoid provoking industrial unrest.

In the statement by Mr Benson Upah, NLC’s Head Information and Public Affairs, contended that it may no longer be able to withstand the pressure for industrial action should the minimum wage issue continue to be prolonged.

NLC urged President Bola Tinubu who had promised a living wage (which is superior to a minimum wage) not to allow himself be blackmailed or boxed into a corner by unpatriotic governors.

Recall that the Southern governors had few days ago asked that the governors should be allowed to negotiate what each state can pay, saying “NLC is compelled to address the recent statements made by some Nigerian Governors regarding their desire to pay what they deem fit to Nigerian workers as the minimum wage. This notion is not only dictatorial but also undermines the very essence as well as the model adopted for creating a national minimum wage in Nigeria.

“The concept of a national minimum wage is not arbitrary. It represents a national wage floor, a baseline below which no worker in the law should be paid. This threshold is a collective agreement that ensures a minimum standard of living for every worker in the law.

“The Governors’ demand to unilaterally determine the minimum wage negates this principle and threatens the welfare of Nigerian workers and the nationaleconomy.

“It is important to remind the Governors that the national minimum wage is not synonymous with the individual pay structures of the states which they implement religiously, reflecting their unique financial capabilities and circumstances.