On Tuesday, the Senate swiftly passed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 (Amendment Bill), marking a decisive moment in Nigeria’s wage policy reform.
The bill, which underwent both second and third readings almost immediately after being transmitted by President Bola Tinubu, received unanimous approval from the upper chamber.
Following a clause-by-clause review in the Committee of the Whole, the bill scaled its third reading and was promptly passed into law.
Earlier in the day, President Tinubu had sent the bill to the National Assembly with a request for expedited consideration. His proposal sought to increase the national minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 and reduce the periodic review cycle from five years to three.
The bill’s rapid passage follows a significant agreement between the government and the Organised Labour. Last Thursday, after extensive negotiations, both sides settled on ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage.
This resolution came after months of stalled talks and a previous proposal from a tripartite committee that recommended ₦62,000. Labour had originally demanded ₦250,000, citing the unsustainability of the ₦30,000 minimum wage amid rising inflation and the removal of petrol subsidies.
Labour’s acceptance of the ₦70,000 wage was influenced by the President’s commitment to reduce the review period to every three years instead of five. Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero confirmed that Labour rejected a conditional offer of ₦250,000 tied to increased petrol prices and accepted the ₦70,000 wage as a more feasible solution.
The bill’s transmission to the National Assembly comes approximately six weeks after President Tinubu announced during his Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2024, that he would introduce an executive bill to update the national minimum wage.
