Days have passed since President Bola Tinubu declared ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
However, as the economic hardship continues to linger, Nigerians cannot help but ask, when will the new wage be implemented?
Sadly, the new Minimum Wage Bill is yet to be signed into law, and now, with the mounting call for a nationwide protest, all eyes are on the government.
Indeed, the President is expected to sign the new Minimum Wage Bill into law next week.
This follows the bill’s rapid passage by the National Assembly.
The Minimum Wage Bill
Meanwhile, sources within the National Assembly confirmed that the bill was finalized on Wednesday and sent to the office of the President on Thursday.
This development came after both chambers of the National Assembly gave the bill an expedited passage during Tuesday’s plenary sessions.
Senator Abdullahi Gumel, the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, affirmed the transmission of the bill.
“The bill will be transmitted today (Thursday),” Gumel said on Thursday.
Swift Approval
Furthermore, it is expected that the President will give swift assent to the bill, which marks a significant increase in the national minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
The Senate and the House of Representatives both swiftly passed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 (Amendment Bill).
Also Read: Minimum Wage: Senate Signs ₦70,000 Bill Into Law
The bill underwent second and third readings in both chambers within minutes of being transmitted by the President.
Following a unanimous vote after a clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole, the bill passed its third reading and was approved by the Senate. The House of Representatives mirrored this approval immediately.
The President had earlier sent an executive bill on the new national minimum wage to the National Assembly, requesting prompt consideration and passage.
He also proposed reducing the period for periodic review of the national minimum wage from five years to three years.
This legislative action follows an agreement between President Tinubu and labour leaders.
The agreement sets the new minimum wage at ₦70,000.
This new wage replaces the previous ₦30,000 minimum wage that expired on April 18, 2024.
