Lawyers Support NLC, Assert FEC Cannot Determine Workers’ Salaries; Give Reasons
Lawyers have sided with organized labor, asserting that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) lacks the authority to set salaries for Nigerian workers.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Abdul Balogun, stated that no existing law grants the FEC the power to determine civil servants’ pay. “There is nothing in our law books that gives FEC the powers to deliberate on the minimum wage. It is illegal. Any resolution by FEC on minimum wage cannot stand because they do not have the power to come up with any resolution on the matter,” he explained.
Civil rights activist, Barrister Daud Bello, echoed Balogun’s views. He emphasized that the issue of minimum wage should have been resolved by now, allowing focus to shift to other matters. “The deliberation on minimum wage has lingered for too long, and I expected that by now, it should have been decided by the appropriate body. FEC has no business deliberating on minimum wage; it is not their duty. Any resolution by the FEC on minimum wage is a violation of the law guiding wages and salaries in the country,” Bello stated.
