Senate approves N30,000 new minimum wage

After the presentation of its ad hoc committee, the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday approved N30,000 as the new minimum wage for workers.

The committee’s report, presented by Senator Francis Alimikhena was approved after the National Minimum Wage Act CAP N61 LFN (repeal and re-enactment) Bill, 2019 after surviving the three readings.

Upon the presentation and the approval of the report, the committee was afterwards dissolved.

Reacting to the report of the committee, senate leader, Senator Ahmed Lawal said the government needed not wait till it was threatened by strike action before the needful was done.

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He said, “The Ad-hoc Committee promised to give a new minimum wage to Nigerians and they have fulfilled the promise. This gesture should be appreciated. We do not have to wait until we are threatened with strike action before we take action. The Nigerian workers must show that the government is paying them and they are paying the government in service.”

The Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki acknowledged the resilience of Nigerian workers.

He said, “I want to commend the leaders of the organisations of the union. Let me also state that as government, we should ensure that at times like these, we should not wait for there to be strikes to do what is truly deserving for our workers.

“Let me join our colleagues to commend the efforts of the committee. More importantly, let me commend the patience of Nigerian workers and the leadership of the Labour Union, who have over the years been calling for this minimum wage and have carried their efforts responsibly,’’ he added.

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