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    From N30k To N70K: Senate Passes Minimum Wage Bill With Unusual Speed

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    The Senate has passed the new minimum wage bill, raising the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.

    This decision, which took place on Tuesday, saw the bill pass its first, second, and third readings within an hour, reflecting the urgency and consensus on the matter.

    Analysts say the swift passage, which was quite unusual, may go into the records as one of the fastest passages of bills in the Senate.

    Leading the debate on the bill, Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Majority Leader, emphasised that the new wage level was the result of extensive negotiations between various stakeholders.

    “This is part of the federal government’s short-term measure to mitigate the situation in the country,” Bamidele stated.

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    “The Bill, inter alia, seeks to amend the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, to increase the National Minimum Wage and reduce the time for periodic review of the National Minimum Wage from five years to three years, and for related matters.”

    “In response to the agitations and after a series of negotiations between the Federal Government and the Organized Labour, the current National Minimum Wage of N30,000 Naira only has been reviewed upward to the sum of N70,000 Naira only.”

    Tahir Monguno, the Chief Whip, highlighted the need for the minimum wage review to reflect current economic realities.

    “The review of the minimum wage used to be after every five years. It is now every three years,” Monguno said. “There is a need to review it and bring it in tandem with the realities of society.”

    Following the debates, the Senate moved into the “committee of the whole” to approve the bill’s clauses, marking a crucial step towards its implementation.

    This legislative action follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent request to increase the 2024 appropriation Act by N6.2 trillion.

    The president specified that N3.2 trillion would be allocated for infrastructure projects, while N3 trillion would cover the new national minimum wage.

    Defending the president’s request before the House of Representatives committee on appropriations, Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, confirmed that the N3 trillion was intended to fund the increased minimum wage.

    In addition to raising the minimum wage, the Senate also passed a bill to amend the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, reducing the period for periodic wage reviews from five years to three years.

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