By Doris Isreal Ijeoma
President Bola Tinubu is expected to sign the Minimum Wage Bill into law next week, following its passage by the National Assembly.
The bill was finalized on Wednesday and transmitted to the President on Thursday, after its swift passage by both chambers during Tuesday’s plenary.
According to multiple sources within the National Assembly, the President is expected to give expeditious assent to the bill.
The Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, Senator Abdullahi Gumel, confirmed the development, stating, “The bill will be transmitted today (Thursday).”
The National Minimum Wage Act 2019 (Amendment Bill) was approved separately by the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday, following a unanimous vote after a clause-by-clause consideration.
The bill aims to increase the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000, replacing the expired minimum wage that was effective until April 18, 2024.
The President had transmitted an executive bill to the National Assembly, requesting prompt consideration to reflect the new minimum wage and reduce the periodic review period from five years to three years.
This followed an agreement reached with labour leaders on the new minimum wage benchmark.
The Tripartite Committee on the New National Minimum Wage had submitted separate figures, with the government team and organised private sector proposing N62,000, while Organised Labour demanded N250,000.
The President held meetings with stakeholders to harmonise the figures before transmitting the executive bill to the National Assembly.
