The National Assembly has delayed transmitting the minimum wage bill, now expected to send it to President Bola Tinubu by Monday.
Although the bill received approval from both the Senate and the House of Representatives after second and third readings, it was originally scheduled for transmission on Thursday. However, it has yet to reach the presidency for assent.
Senator Abdullahi Gumel, Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, confirmed the delay on Saturday. He attributed it to the pending N6.2 trillion 2024 Appropriation bill and the incomplete Finance bill.
This delay has caused concern among stakeholders who are eager for the minimum wage bill to be enacted promptly.
“The Appropriation committees still had a few things to finalize, so it made no sense to transmit the Minimum Wage bill without the accompanying financial bills needed to support the new wage,” Gumel explained.
Gumel added that the National Assembly leadership plans to personally deliver the bills to the president, either over the weekend or by Monday.
President Tinubu had earlier sent the Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly, proposing an amendment to the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 to increase the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.
He also sought to shorten the review period for the national minimum wage from five years to three years, following an agreement with labor leaders.
