Domestic Workers Added to ₦70,000 Minimum Wage, Akpabio Confirms

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has announced that the newly approved minimum wage of ₦70,000 will apply to all workers in both the public and private sectors, including domestic staff.

He revealed this during a plenary session on Tuesday.

Akpabio stated, “If you are a tailor and employ additional hands, you cannot pay them below ₦70,000. If you are a mother with a newborn child and you want to hire a housemaid to look after your child, you cannot pay them below the approved minimum wage. It is not a maximum wage. It applies to all and sundry.”

The bill, passed by both chambers of the National Assembly following its transmission by President Bola Tinubu, sets a new minimum wage of ₦70,000 for all workers.

“If you hire a driver or gateman, you cannot pay them below ₦70,000,” Akpabio continued.

He expressed his satisfaction with the legislation, saying, “I congratulate the Nigeria Labour Congress, all Nigerians, and the National Assembly for this epoch-making legislation, which has even reduced the term of negotiations from five years to three years in view of the increasing cost of living. This is, again, landmark legislation, so congratulations.”