Senate passes new minimum wage bill

The Senate has passed the new National Minimum Wage Bill to empower Nigerian workers and this followed President Bola Tinubu Tuesday transmitting of the N70,000 new National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly for consideration,

Penpushing reports that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, read a letter containing details of the minimum wage during the plenary on Tuesday, while is recalled that the House of Representatives approved additional N6.2 trillion spending in 2024 budget

The bill scaled second reading in the House of Representatives, the bill scaled second reading which seeks to amend the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 and reduce the review period from five years to three years.

Penpushing further reports that Tinubu’s letter containing details of the minimum wage bill was first read by Akpabio and equally announced passage of the bill during the plenary after the senators supported it.

The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, thereafter moved a motion to refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole for immediate consideration of the bill clause by clause, while the motion was subsequently seconded by the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro.

Penpushing also reports that the Senate President then directed members of the upper chamber to refer it to the Committee of the Whole for consideration, however, at the committee, none of the senators debated or spoke on the bill before the clause by clause was approved.

The Senate President after approving the bill clause by clause, put the passage to vote and the senators supported it through voice votes, while the Majority Leader of the House, Julius Ihonvbere, led the debate on the bill.

Penpushing reports that a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ali Ndume, said the approved minimum wage cannot sustain a household because it can only buy 50kilogramme of rice, emphasizing that many Nigerians are hungry and angry towards the government because of the harsh economy.

The federal lawmaker, representing Borno South, who was removed by his colleagues as Chief Whip for crticising the President however, advised the President to review the minimum wage in the interest of Nigerian workers.

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