House Overrides Buhari, Governors, Passes Minimum Wage Bill

ByUche Mbah

The Federal House of Representatives have passed the minimum wage bill, pegging it at N30,000. President Buhari, bowing to the wish of the governors, had forwarded N27,000 to the house of Reps and the Senate for approval. The postponement of the Senate resumption date means that the House have to wait for the senate to resume for the harmonization.

The ad-hoc committee report was unanimously adopted by the house

The ad hoc committee report was considered clause by clause before being passed.

Ironically, the new minimum wage passed at N30,000 is equivalent to $82 at N350 per dollar. This is less than when the minimum wage was N18, but the exchange rate was N198 per dollar, where it amounted to $91.

The minimum wage has been under review by the Nigerian Labor Congress who have threatened strike on the issue several times, each time shelving the plan. In the wage proposal, companies that employ less than twenty five people were exempted from the bill. The House of reps retained the clause that gave that exemption.

The governors have insisted that they cannot pay the minimum wage of N30,000 but would prefer N27,000. The Nigerian Labor congress rejected that.

It is feared that if the bill is eventually passed into law, it may trigger a runaway inflation.