Nigerians React As President Tinubu Honors Fashola On His 61st-Birthday (Text)

Nigerians React As President Tinubu Honors Fashola On His 61st-Birthday (Text)

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has extended his congratulations to Babatunde Fashola, a former Governor of Lagos State, on his 61st birthday.

Ireporteronline reports that Fashola, a former Minister of Works and Housing, clocked 61 on Friday, June 28, 2024.

Fashola, who previously served as Tinubu’s Chief of Staff during his tenure as Governor of Lagos State, held various roles before becoming the Governor in 2007.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also held the position of Minister of Power, Works and Housing from 2015 to 2019, and Minister of Works and Housing from 2019 to 2023.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu expressed his good wishes for Fashola on his special day, joining family, friends, and well-wishers in celebrating one of Nigeria’s most talented individuals.

Tinubu also thanked Fashola for his dedicated service to the nation and prayed for his continued good health and vitality, hoping for many more years of active contribution towards building a better Nigeria.

“The President joins family, friends, and well-wishers to celebrate one of Nigeria’s most gifted minds on this special occasion,” the statement read.

The former Minister of Works and Housing stated last week that the National Assembly might have acted unconstitutionally by confusing salary for a wage.

Fashola explained that the National Assembly only has the power to legislate on wage, which is paid hourly and not salary which is paid monthly.

Speaking on Arise News on Tuesday, the former governor argued that in other jurisdictions where the minimum wage was applicable, amendments to increase it do not necessarily translate to massive distortions across the salary compensation scheme.

He noted that, “The extant law on minimum wage is the National Minimum Wage Act 2019, which came into force on the 18th April 2019; and it provides in Section 3 (4) that, ‘The national minimum wage expires after five years, and it shall be reviewed in line with the provision of this Act’.

“Please note that it is the ‘minimum wage’ that has expired but not the Act, and as is shown in the underlined portion above, the review of the 2019 minimum wage provisions, after the period of five years, shall be in line with the provision of the 2019 Act.”

Fashola subsequently stated that “Therefore, it seems obvious from this definition that by making a law in Section 3(1) of the Minimum Wage Act that the minimum wage of N30,000 shall be paid monthly, the NASS may have acted unconstitutionally by legislating on a SALARY (monthly payment) when they only have power to legislate on WAGES, an hourly payment.

“This is important while the conversation on minimum wage is being had in 2024, because in Section 3(4), the minimum wage ‘shall be reviewed in line with the provisions of this Act’ which includes Section 3(1) that has prescribed a monthly amount instead of an hourly wage.

“If we follow the proper definition of wages as an hourly rate and apply the global method for computing it, which is to divide the gross annual sum by 52 weeks, and further by 40 hours recommended per week, we will have for Nigeria a minimum wage that is not N30,000 per month, but rather N30,000 X 12 (months) = N36,000 divided by 52 (weeks) = N6,923.07 divided by 40 (hours), which will give a minimum wage of N173.07 per hour.”