Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has called for a constitutional review in Nigeria to give states the authority to set their own minimum wages.
Citing the differences in resources and cost of living between states, Fashola underlined the need of moving the authority over wages from the exclusive to the concurrent list.
Fashola made these remarks during the presentation of his book titled “Nigerian Public Discourse: The interplay of empirical evidence and hyperbole” in Lagos.He called for Nigerians to adopt a new perspective and attitude in addition to the current discussion about political and administrative restructuring.
Fashola expressed disappointment over the absence of outspoken support for various pay, as well as resource control, from proponents of true federalism and restructuring. He also questioned the lack of comment following the proposal for a constitutional change that would have created the state police.
The former Lagos State governor argued that a decentralized law enforcement system should accompany a decentralized judiciary and law-making arrangement. He argued in favour of multilevel policing and stressed how important it is to let state and local governments implement their laws.
In addition, Fashola expressed doubts about the parliamentary system of governance’s applicability given Nigeria’s heterogeneous populace and political environment. He underlined the need for continuity and consistency in policy and warned against making abrupt changes to the leadership.
Femi Gbajabiamila, speaking on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, emphasised the significance of social media regulation, pointing out its detrimental effects on the nation. In the meantime, Chair Centre Group founder Ibukun Awosika stressed the need of having educated voters in order to propel the country to greatness.
