He signed it at the State House in Abuja on Monday days after the National Assembly National had passed the Minimum Wage Act, 2019 to increase the National Minimum Wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
The brief ceremony was witnessed by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, among others.
Following the signing, the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters Basheer Lado said the move is a promise kept.
“The signing of the minimum wage bill into law by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is both a promise kept and a demonstration of his people-centric governance model,” he said in a statement. “Tinubu promised to pay a living wage to Nigerian workers during his electioneering campaigns and he has kept that promise.”
President Tinubu’s move followed months of talks with labour unions which insisted on a new minimum in the wake of the fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the naira both steps ballooning the cost of living.
Labour unions had initially proposed ₦494,000 as a new minimum wage with the government offering ₦60,000. After a series of negotiations, the workers demanded ₦250,000 while the government shifted grounds to N62,000.
But on July 18, the Federal Government and the unions reached a consensus figure of ₦70,000.
