Prominent human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has asserted that both federal and state governments can afford to pay the proposed new national minimum wage if they recover and allocate looted funds.

In an interview with ChannelsTV on Thursday night, Falana emphasized the need for political will to address the wage issue.

“The state governments claiming they lack funds to pay the minimum wage have the money. What is required, including from the Federal Government, is the political will to collect and recover money either looted or withheld from the federation account,” Falana stated.

The ongoing dispute over a new minimum wage has seen no resolution, with labour unions and the Nigerian government failing to reach an agreement. Labour initially demanded N494,000, but reduced their demand to N250,000 during the last meeting of the Tripartite Committee on the New Minimum Wage in Abuja.

The Federal Government, on the other hand, increased its offer from N60,000 to N62,000. Negotiations are expected to resume after July 2, when the National Assembly returns from its break.