Boma Achenimie 
A former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi on Friday reemphasized the importance of decentralised minimum wage negotiations.
Fayemi who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme opined that the states should be allowed to conduct wage negotiations with labour unions without the interference of the Federal Government.
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) said the governor of Lagos State should not be earning the same salary as the governor of Ekiti State.
He has more resources, but we all go by rank. And the N600,000 that I earn in Ekiti is what Governor Sanwo-Olu earns in Lagos.
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According to him, “The position of the Nigerian Governors Forum when I was governor and chairman of the forum, and I believe even till this recent negotiation, is that we should decentralise minimum wage negotiations and allow states to have their negotiations with their labour unions, whilst the Federal Government conducts its negotiation because fingers are not equal.
“I don’t believe that we’re being real with ourselves. This should be decentralised, and each state should define in conjunction with their labour union, with transparency, all the records provided to the labour union that look, this is what we have.”
He further explained the broader implications of a centralised minimum wage, noting that only a small percentage of the population benefits directly from these negotiations.
