Senate, house of reps pass minimum wage bill in record time

The senate and house of representatives have passed the new minimum wage bill.

The bill passed first (President Bola Tinubu’s request), second (debate on general principles), and third readings on Tuesday — all within an hour — in the upper and lower legislative chambers.

The legislation seeks to raise the country’s minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.

While leading a debate on the bill, Opeyemi Bamidele, majority leader of the senate, said N70,000 was agreed upon by all the parties after negotiations.

“This is part of the federal government’s short term measure to mitigate the situation in the country,” Bamidele said.

Tahir Monguno, chief whip, said there is a need to review the minimum wage to align with economic realities.

“The review of the minimum wage used to be after every five years. It is now every three years,” Monguno said.

“There is a need to review it and bring it in tandem with the realities of society.”

Thereafter, the senate dissolved into the “committee of the whole” to approve clauses of the bill.

Last week, Tinubu asked the national assembly to increase the 2024 appropriation Act by N6.2 trillion.

The president said N3.2 trillion is for infrastructure projects and N3 trillion for recurrent expenditure.

Defending the president’s request before the house of representatives committee on appropriations on Monday, Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning, said the N3 trillion is intended to cover the new national minimum wage.

Reporting by Dyepkazah Shibayan and Samuel Akpan