The Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday, passed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019.
The bill, which scaled second and third readings at both legislative chambers in the National Assembly, transmitted by President Bola Tinubu, was instantly passed separately by the lower and upper chambers.
Following a unanimous vote after a clause-by-clause consideration in the Committee of the Whole, the National Minimum Wage Bill passed its third reading and was approved by the Senate.
President Tinubu is expected to sign the bill into law.
INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that the President had earlier transmitted the National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.
READ MORE: FG, Labour Agree On N70,000 Minimum Wage — Minister
He separately wrote to the Senate and the House of Representatives, requesting prompt consideration of the bill to amend the National Minimum Wage Act 2019, increasing the National Minimum Wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
The President also requested lawmakers to reduce the period for periodic review of the national minimum wage from five years to three years, addressing related matters in the process.
Recall that on the 18th of July, 2024, President Tinubu and the leadership of the organised Labour agreed on ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
This agreement followed a series of talks between labour leaders and the Tinubu over the past few weeks, after months of unsuccessful negotiations between labour organisations and a tripartite committee on minimum wage constituted by the President in January.
The committee, which included representatives from state and federal governments and the organised private sector, had proposed ₦62,000, while labour had insisted on ₦250,000 as the new minimum wage for workers, who currently earn ₦30,000.
