It took a few minutes for the Senate to deliberate and pass the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 (Amendment Bill), after it was presented by President Bola Tinubu Tuesday.
The Senate voted unanimously to pass the Bill after it scaled the first, second and third reading. It was presented by Senate leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who urged the lawmakers to act speedily in face of the economic crisis that has caused hardship for Nigerians.
The House of Representatives are expected to follow suit and President Tinubu will sign into law the National Minimum Wage Act increasing the National Minimum Wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000. He implored the National Assembly to reduce the time for periodic review of the national minimum wage from five years to three years and related matters.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress had proposed N494,000 as the new national minimum wage, citing inflation and the prevailing economic hardship in the country.
But the unions later reduced the amount to N250,000 after several meetings.
On July 11, labour leaders met with Tinubu at the presidential villa over the new minimum wage. The labour leaders eventually accepted N70,000 as the new minimum wage for workers.
