President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, yesterday said that the amendment to the 2024 Appropriation Act, to fund the new minimum wage, is expected to be passed by Wednesday (tomorrow).
The Senate President disclosed this while speaking with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after the signing of the new National Minimum Wage Bill of N70,000, into law by President Bola Tinubu.
President Tinubu had put on hold the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting to receive representatives of the National Assembly, led by Senator Akpabio, into the Council Chambers of the State House for a brief signing ceremony for the Minimum Wage Act.
Akpabio explained that the new Act applies to all employers of labour in the country, including federal, state, and local governments, as well as private sector employers.
He emphasised that the N70,000 minimum wage is not a maximum, and employers with the capacity to pay more are encouraged to do so.
He commended President Tinubu for his commitment to Nigerian workers and noted that the National Assembly passed the bill in one day due to its importance.
Asked how soon the amendment to the budget would be ready, Akpabio said “We have gone very far with it and I expect that by Wednesday it will be signed”.
Expressing his excitement about the new law, the President of the Senate said “The national minimum wage amendment is for the whole nation; for the federal government, for the state, for the local governments, for the private sector, and even for individual employers.
“So I think this is a great day for the workers in the country. We are not only doubling the minimum wage, we have added something on top. Initially, it was N30,000, now it is N70,000.
“Like I said, this is minimum, this is not maximum. Any employer that has the capacity can pay as much as you want, but no Nigerian worker will offer services and be paid anything less than N70,000 from today. That is the implication of this Act.
“It applies all over the nation and we are excited that this is happening at a time like this, though President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a man who cares for the Nigerian workers and you see what we are doing in the National Assembly when it came the entirety of the National Assembly moved and passed the bill in one day out of excitement, we felt that this was not something we could delay. So I think the workers are happy”, he said.
Also speaking to journalists, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said the signing of the new law was a demonstration of President Tinubu’s care for the wellbeing of Nigerians.
The Speaker, represented by the Leader of the House of Representatives, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, said, “This is an action from the President to show that he cares about the Nigerian people.
“In addition to signing the North East Development Commission, the North West Development Commission, and the South East Development Commission, this has never happened in Nigeria.
“So I think this movement from N30,000 to N70,000 and reducing the negotiation [from five to three] years is a clear demonstration of a commitment to redirect, refocus, and reposition Nigeria for greatness,” he said.
