On Tuesday, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a new minimum wage bill into law.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 to increase the National Minimum Wage and reduce the time for period review of the national wage from five years to three years and for related matters 2024,” amends Section 3 (4) of the Minimum Wage Act No. 8 of 2019 by substituting the figure N30,000 with N70,000.
Additionally, Section 3 (4) of the Principal Act now mandates a review every three years instead of every five years.
In the Senate, the bill received accelerated consideration and passed the first, second, and third readings at the plenary session after the Red Chamber amended its rules to facilitate its passage.
The House also approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to amend the 2019 National Minimum Wage Act to reflect the recently approved national minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
Lawmakers quickly adopted all provisions in the bill and approved recommendations to increase the minimum wage from 30,000 naira to 70,000 naira and shorten the review period from five years to three years.
