REASON BUHARI HAS NOT SIGNED 30 THOUSAND MINIMUN WAGE

The Presidency said on Wednesday that President Muhammadu Buhari had yet to sign the National Minimum Wage Bill just passed by the National Assembly into law, contrary to reports last week that he had done so.

The Senate had on March 19 passed the bill, approving N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

By its action, the Senate concurred the earlier decision of the House of Representatives, which passed the bill before the National Assembly shut down its operations to enable lawmakers to participate in the 2019 general elections, beginning from February 16.

Last week, there were social media reports, claiming that Buhari had assented to the bill.

But speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH in Abuja on Wednesday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, dismissed the reports.

He said that signing of bills was not done in secrecy, as the President would normally communicate his decision to Nigerians publicly.

Enang clarified that Buhari had yet to sign the bill on the grounds that there were operational procedures to be followed.

However, he confirmed that the bill, which captured N30,000 as the new national minimum wage, had been transmitted to Buhari by the National Assembly.