President Bola Tinubu has signed the National Minimum Wage Bill into law, signalling the beginning of implementation of the N70,000 agreed by all stakeholders in the tripartite committee.
The President signed the bill into law on Monday at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa Abuja, witnessed by leadership of the National Assembly, Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau among others.
The President who is presiding over a Federal Executive Council meeting had to suspend proceedings temporarily to assent to the bill.
Shortly after, the Senate President Akpabio spoke to State House Correspondents, saying Nigerian workers have cause to be happy as the government has not only doubled the wage benchmark, it also added some money to it.
He seized the opportunity to caution those planning a national protest saying while it is their fundamental right to protest, they must not resort to violence or destructive tendencies.
According to Akpabio, the challenges bedeviling the country was not the making of the current administration, adding that resorting to violence will jeopardise efforts to rebuild the nation.
Akpabio said, ” I’m ecstatic. I’m excited about the Nigerian worker and the national minimum wage amendment is for the whole nation; for the federal government, the states, the local governments, for the private sector, and even for individual employers.
“So I think this is a great day for the workers in the country. We are not only doubling the minimum wage, we have added something on top. Initially, it was N30,000, now it is N70,000.
“Like I said, this is minimum, this is not maximum. Any employer that has a capacity can pay as much as you want. But no Nigerian worker will offer services and be paid anything less than 70,000 from today.
“That is the implication of this act. It applies to all over the nation. And we are excited that this is happening at a time like this through President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; a man who cares for the Nigerian workers. And you’ve seen what we are doing in the National Assembly.
“When it came the entirety of the National Assembly moved and passed the bill in one day out of excitement. We felt that this was not something we could delay. So I think the workers are happy.
