The Nigerian Senate has passed the National Minimum Wage Bill, approving N30,000 minimum monthly wage for Federal and State workers.

This followed the third reading of the National Minimum Wage Act CAP N61 LFN (repeal and re-enactment) Bill, 2019 (SB. 722).

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, while speaking on the development during Tuesday plenary session, he said that the passage of the bill should spur workers into doing more to increase their productivity.

According to him, “I hope that with this minimum wage our workers will double their efforts to increase their productivity, so that we can also improve the general productivity of the country. It is my hope that the implementation of this will start immediately.”

Saraki equally commended the leaders of the organised labours, stating that “as government, we should ensure that at times like these, we should not wait for strikes to do what is truly deserving for our workers.”

He added: “Let me join our colleagues to commend the efforts of the committee. More importantly, let me commend the patience of Nigerian workers and the leadership of the Labour Union, who have over the years been calling for this minimum wage and have carried their efforts responsibly.”