Senate passed N70, 000 National Minimum Wage Bill

The bill which was transmitted to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu on July 23, was given accelerated consideration, resulting in its first and second readings in line with Senate Rule 80.

Opeyemi, who led the debate on the bill’s general principles, said it sought to amend the National Minimum Wage Act of 2019.

According to him, the bill seeks to increase the national minimum wage and reduce the time for periodic review from five years to three years.

He said that recently, agitations and clamours have been recorded from organised labour and other segments of society for an increase in the national minimum wage, given the prevailing economic situation in Nigeria.

He said that in response to agitations and after a series of negotiations between the Federal Government and organised labour, the current national minimum wage of N30,000 has been revised upward to N70,000.

According to him, it is part of the Federal Government’s short-term measure to mitigate the situation in the country, as efforts are being made to find long-term solutions that would align with Nigerians’ yearnings and aspirations and bring succour.