The 2024 National Minimum Wage Amendment Act Bill was passed into law by the Senate on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, during plenary.

As per Senate Rule 80, the bill that President Bola Tinubu forwarded to the Senate on July 23 was expeditiously considered, leading to its first and second readings, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Afterward, Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele presented and adopted a report on the bill.

According to the Senate Majority Leader during his lead discussion on the general principles of the bill, the goal of the bill was to revise the National Minimum Wage Act of 2019.

Opeyemi Bamidele went on to say that the law aims to shorten the five-year periodic review period to three years and raise the national minimum wage.

He added that considering Nigeria’s current economic circumstances, a great deal of agitation and outcry for an increase in the national minimum wage have been documented from organised labour and various segments of society in recent years.

He added that the current national minimum wage of N30,000 has been raised to N70,000 in response to protests and following a series of talks between the Federal Government and organised labour.

Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) had suggested N494,000 as the new national minimum wage, citing inflation and the current economic hardship in the nation, in response to agitations.

However, after further negotiations, the unions subsequently lowered the sum to N250,000. 

Labour leaders then went ahead to meet with President Tinubu at the presidential villa on July 11, 2024, to discuss the new wage.

Eventually, the labour leaders agreed that the new minimum pay for workers should be N70,000.