N’Assembly Puts Minimum Wage Bill on Hold, Postpones Transmission

The National Assembly has postponed the transmission of the minimum wage bill, which may now be sent to President Bola Tinubu by Monday.

The bill, which underwent second and third readings in both legislative chambers shortly after being transmitted by the President, was approved separately by the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Initially, the National Assembly had planned to transmit the bill on Thursday. However, it has yet to reach the presidency for assent.

Speaking to Punch on Saturday, the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, Senator Abdullahi Gumel, confirmed the delay in transmission.

“Yes, we delayed the transmission of the Minimum Wage bill because the money bills, the N6.2tn 2024 Appropriation bill (Amended), and the Finance bill were not ready,” Senator Gumel explained. “The Appropriation committees still had one or two things to tidy up on the money bills, so there was no point transmitting the Minimum Wage bill without sending the bills that will cater to the money required to pay the minimum wage.”

Senator Gumel further noted that the leadership of the National Assembly also wanted to personally deliver the bills to the President. “The leadership wants to take the bills to the president themselves, so they’d take it to him either this weekend or by Monday,” he added.

The President had earlier sent the Minimum Wage Bill through an executive communication to the National Assembly for consideration and passage. He also wrote separately to the Senate and the House of Representatives, requesting a prompt consideration of the bill to amend the National Minimum Wage Act 2019, raising the minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.

Additionally, the President requested that the lawmakers reduce the period for the periodic review of the national minimum wage from five years to three years. This followed the agreement reached by President Tinubu and labor leaders on ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers after a meeting at the Aso Presidential Villa, Abuja.