The Nigerian Senate has passed the new minimum wage bill, raising the country’s minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.
The bill progressed through its first, second, and third readings on Tuesday, all within the span of an hour.
Leading the debate on the bill, Opeyemi Bamidele, the majority leader of the Senate, explained that the new wage figure was the result of extensive negotiations among all involved parties. “This is part of the federal government’s short-term measure to mitigate the situation in the country,” Bamidele said.
Supporting the bill, Tahir Monguno, the chief whip, emphasized the necessity of adjusting the minimum wage to reflect current economic conditions.
“The review of the minimum wage used to be after every five years. It is now every three years,” Monguno stated.
“There is a need to review it and bring it in tandem with the realities of society.”
Following the debate, the Senate moved into the “committee of the whole” to approve the various clauses of the bill.
This legislative action comes on the heels of President Bola Tinubu’s recent request to the National Assembly to increase the 2024 appropriation Act by N6.2 trillion.
The president specified that N3.2 trillion would be allocated for infrastructure projects, while N3 trillion would cover recurrent expenditures, including the new national minimum wage.
