President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the new minimum wage bill recently passed by the National Assembly into law.
The President assented to the bill at the State House, Aso Rock Villa on Monday making it mandatory for an employed Nigerian worker to earn at least N70,000 per month.
The brief ceremony was witnessed by National Assembly leaders led by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, top aides of the president.
Speaking to journalists after the ceremony, Senate Akpabio said:
“We are not only doubling the minimum wage, we have added something on top. Initially, it was N30,000, now it is N70,000,” an excited Mr Akpabio told journalists after the signing.
“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, the private sector, and even for individual employers.
“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 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,” he said.
“When it came, the entirety of the National Assembly moved and passed the bill one day out of excitement. We felt that this was not something we could delay. So, I think the workers are happy.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives who represented by the Leader of the House, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere said that the assent to the bill shows that the administration of Preisent Tinubu cares for Nigerians.