President Bola Tinubu has approved a ₦150,000 grant for each business owner in Jigawa State.
The announcement was made through a press release by the State House in Abuja and shared by Vice President Kashim Shettima on his official X account on Tuesday.
According to the release, Shettima, speaking at the launch of the AI Expertise Blockchain and Technology Training and Outsourcing Initiative in Dutse, stated that the grant is part of Nigeria’s strategy to advance digital transformation and establish leadership in Africa.
Shettima stated that Nigeria is not merely catching up with global standards but is positioned to surpass them in economic and technological sectors.
He made this remark following the launch of the 4th edition of the Expanded National Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Clinic. During the event, he revealed that President Bola Tinubu has approved a ₦150,000 grant for each business owner in Jigawa State as part of the Federal Government’s initiative to support MSMEs nationwide.
He noted that the ₦150,000 grant is an outright grant that does not require beneficiaries to repay.
This is as the the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday, speedily passed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 (Amendment Bill).
The bill, which swiftly progressed through second and third readings in both houses of the National Assembly after being transmitted by President Bola Tinubu, was promptly passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In a unanimous vote following clause-by-clause consideration in the Committee of the Whole, the National Minimum Wage Bill was approved on third reading in the Senate. The House of Representatives also passed the bill immediately after the Senate.
President Tinubu is anticipated to sign the bill into law soon.
Previously, the President submitted the National Minimum Wage Bill to the National Assembly for review and passage. He separately requested both the Senate and the House of Representatives to expedite consideration of the bill, which aims to amend the National Minimum Wage Act of 2019. The amendment seeks to increase the minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000, as well as shorten the review period for the minimum wage from five years to three.
Last Thursday, President Tinubu and the leadership of the Organised Labour reached an agreement on ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
This resolution followed extensive negotiations between labor leaders and the President, which came after months of failed discussions involving labor groups and a tripartite committee on minimum wage formed by the President in January.
The committee, comprising state and federal governments as well as the Organised Private Sector, had proposed ₦62,000. However, labor unions had initially demanded ₦250,000, arguing that ₦30,000 was insufficient given the economic challenges of inflation and high living costs following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Despite their initial demand for ₦250,000, labor unions accepted the ₦70,000 offer from the President.
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero noted that the acceptance was based on the understanding that the minimum wage would now be reviewed every three years instead of every five, rather than accepting a proposal that included an increase in petrol prices.