The National Assembly has postponed the transmission of the minimum wage bill, with expectations that it will be sent to President Bola Tinubu by Monday.
The bill, which was approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives after undergoing second and third readings, was initially slated for transmission on Thursday.
However, it has not yet reached the presidency for assent.
According to The PUNCH, Senator Abdullahi Gumel, Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, confirmed the delay on Saturday.
He explained that the delay was due to the N6.2 trillion 2024 Appropriation bill and the insufficient Finance bill.
“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 said.
Gumel also mentioned that the leadership of the National Assembly intends to personally deliver the bills to the president, either over the weekend or by Monday.
President Tinubu sent the Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly, requesting an amendment to the National Minimum Wage Act 2019, raising the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.
Following an agreement with labour leaders, he also requested a reduction in the review period for the national minimum wage from five years to three years.