Senate approves new national minimum wage of N30,000 after accepting ad-hoc committee report

NIGERIA'S senate has passed a bill approving a new minimum wage of N30,000 ($62) per month after accepting the recommendations on the matter by an ad-hoc committee chaired by deputy chief whip Senator Francis Alimikhena to look into the matter.

Over recent months, the government and Nigeria's trade unions have been negotiating a minimum wage and the two sides eventually agreed to increase the amount to N30,000 from the current N18,000 a month. After months of intense negotiations, President Muhammadu Buhari promised to implement the new national minimum wage after accepting the report of the Tripartite Committee on the Review of National Minimum Wage.

After receiving the report from committee chairman Amal Pepple, President Buhari transmitted an executive bill to the National Assembly. Today the senate passed the bill and asked the federal government to submit a supplementary budget to cover the new wage structure for consideration and approval.

Earlier on, the House of Representatives had approved the new figure as the national minimum wage, so the bill will now go to President Buhari for his assent. Ms Pepple had said she believes that the implementation of the recommended minimum wage will boost the purchasing power of the working class, increase consumption expenditure and stimulate economic growth.

She added that the figure of N30,000 was arrived at after her committee looked at the high cost of living occasioned by the exchange rate as well as the rising inflation rate. Also, the committee considered micro-economic indicators, including the government’s revenue and expenditure profile.