The Nigerian Senate has passed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 (Amendment Bill) in a swift process, just minutes after receiving it from President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, which aims to increase the national minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000, was approved unanimously in its third reading.
President Tinubu had sent the bill to the National Assembly earlier on Tuesday, requesting urgent consideration and passage. He proposed not only a significant wage increase but also a reduction in the review period from five years to three years.
This development follows an agreement reached last Thursday between President Tinubu and the leaders of the Organised Labour, where they agreed on ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, explained: “Labour accepted the ₦70,000 offer and rejected a proposal to pay ₦250,000 minimum wage if it meant increasing petrol prices.”
Ajaero added that Labour agreed to the ₦70,000 amount because it would now be reviewed every three years instead of five.
The agreement came after months of negotiations between labour unions and a tripartite committee set up by the President in January. The committee had proposed ₦62,000, while Labour had initially insisted on ₦250,000 due to high inflation and the increased cost of living after the removal of the petrol subsidy.
President Tinubu had announced on June 12, 2024, that a new executive bill on the national minimum wage would be sent to the National Assembly, leading to the swift passage of the bill about six weeks later.
