The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly opposed the proposed move by the National Assembly to transfer labour-related matters, including the national minimum wage, from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.

Speaking at the National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting of the Central Working Committee in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Friday, NLC President Joe Ajaero described the plan as a "futile exercise" that undermines international labour standards.

Ajaero argued that globally, minimum wage matters are handled at the national level in accordance with International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, which treat countries as single entities—not divided into sub-national units like states.

He warned that the lawmakers’ push was a calculated attempt to weaken the national wage framework and shift core labour functions to individual states, including the creation of separate state industrial courts to adjudicate wage disputes. According to him, such decentralization contradicts established ILO principles.

“The National Assembly should not embark on this futile exercise unless they are also willing to allow their individual states to fix their salaries,” Ajaero stated emphatically.

The NLC reaffirmed its stance to resist any legislative effort that seeks to alter the national structure for labour rights and minimum wage standards.