The Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday swiftly passed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 (Amendment Bill).

The bill, which progressed through its second and third readings in both legislative chambers of the National Assembly just minutes after being submitted by President Bola Tinubu, was promptly approved by both the red and green chambers.

Following a unanimous vote after a clause-by-clause consideration in the Committee of the Whole, the National Minimum Wage Bill passed its third reading and was approved by the Senate. The House of Representatives also passed the bill immediately, mirroring the Senate’s actions.

President Tinubu is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

Earlier, the President had transmitted the National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly for review and passage. He separately addressed the Senate and the House of Representatives, urging the swift consideration of the bill to amend the National Minimum Wage Act 2019. The amendment aims to increase the national minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 and to reduce the period for periodic review of the minimum wage from five years to three years, among other related matters.

Last Thursday, President Tinubu and the leadership of the Organised Labour reached an agreement on ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers. This truce followed a series of discussions between labour leaders and the President over the past few weeks, after months of unsuccessful negotiations between labour unions and a tripartite committee on the minimum wage established by the President in January.

The committee, comprising representatives from state and federal governments as well as the Organised Private Sector, had proposed ₦62,000, while labour had demanded ₦250,000 as the new minimum wage for workers currently earning ₦30,000. Labour argued that ₦30,000 was insufficient given the economic challenges of inflation and the high cost of living following the removal of the petrol subsidy by the President.

Despite initially demanding ₦250,000 as the new minimum wage, Labour accepted the President’s offer of ₦70,000 last Thursday. The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, stated that Labour accepted the ₦70,000 offer and rejected a proposal by President Bola Tinubu to pay ₦250,000 on the condition of increasing petrol prices. He also mentioned that Labour agreed to the ₦70,000 offer because the minimum wage would now be reviewed every three years instead of once every five years.