The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has said that the National Assembly was ready to consider and pass a new Minimum Wage Bill whenever it was presented by the executive.
Note that the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, is demanding an upward push from 18,000 to 56,000 as minimum wage.
Saraki, who made this known to newsmen in Abuja, said that the senate was aware of the need to review the current minimum wage.
He said that all the indices upon which the last minimum wage of N18, 000 was approved had changed and that there was, therefore, no need leaving the wage unchanged.
He acknowledged that the sufferings of Nigerians were glaring, and said that the national assembly was only waiting for the executive to present a bill for a wage review.
“We are in support; we are waiting for the executive. We have told them to go ahead with the idea.
“I have said it myself and the Speaker of House of Representatives said it the last time that we are fully in support. We are waiting for the executive to make a move on it.
“We are prodding the executive to do that; we have done that many times and we are still doing that.
“It is justifiable to have a new minimum wage. How will it not be if you look at the challenges the people are going through. “More so, all the indices have changed since then, and should that be the only index that should stay the same? It is not possible,” he said.
On the inability of some state governments to pay the current minimum wage, Saraki expressed optimism that all state governors were responsible and would key into a new wage when approved.
“I am not in the state but I don’t think that any chief executive or any governor will be irresponsible not to want to provide succour for his people. “But, we have to understand that maybe they have challenges of affordability,” he said.
On the recent request for the report of the 2014 National Conference to be sent to the senate, he said although the move had been lauded, it should not be assumed that all Nigerians supported it.
The president of the senate said that the upper chamber had learned to approach sensitive issues at a slow pace so that all Nigerians could understand and be carried along.
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