Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President has said that all workers across the nation must be paid the new N70,000 minimum wage, News About Nigeria reports.
The Senate President said this on Monday during the signing ceremony of the Minimum Wage Act (Amendment) Bill into law by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
Giving details on this, Akpabio explained that the new national minimum wage applies to the federal government, state and local governments, the private sector, and even individual employers.
In his words, “So, I think this is a great day for the workers in the country. We are not only doubling the minimum wage, but we have also added something on top. Initially, it was N30,000; now it is N70,000. Like I said, this is minimum, not maximum. Any employer that has the capacity can pay as much as they want. But no Nigerian worker will offer services and be paid anything less than N70,000 from today.
“That is the implication of this act. It applies all over the nation. And we are excited that this is happening at a time like this through President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a man who cares for Nigerian workers. We felt that this was not something we could delay. So, I think the workers are happy.”
The Senate President further warned against any form of violence during the August 1st protest.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on those who are attempting to foment trouble; you have a right to protest. It is your fundamental right. It is there in the constitution. But you don’t have a right to destabilise the country. The right to protest should not be turned into the right to unleash violence. It’s clear that people behind this are very amorphous, very faceless.”
