Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, denied media reports suggesting that the Senate plans to include a clause in the New Minimum Wage Bill for the seizure of state and local council funds.
A national daily (not The Sun) reported that lawmakers were considering proposing the seizure of statutory allocations for sub-national governments that fail to pay the new wage once the bill is signed into law. Adaramodu dismissed this report as baseless, stating that it is premature to assume the Senate’s stance on a bill that has not yet been submitted for deliberation.
Adaramodu clarified that President Buhari had only announced the upcoming submission of the New Minimum Wage Bill during his Democracy Day speech. He emphasized that neither the Senate President nor any other senator has seen the bill’s contents, making it impossible for them to take a position on it.
He added that during an interview marking the first anniversary of the 10th National Assembly, he never mentioned that funds for states and local governments would be seized. Adaramodu underscored that Nigeria’s federal system grants autonomy to sub-national governments and labeled the newspaper’s headline as misleading and false.
He concluded by stating that the Senate is still awaiting the Executive Bill. Once received, it will undergo the full legislative process and, if it gains presidential assent, it will become law. Only then can any sanctions be specified by the law, not by the National Assembly. Adaramodu reiterated that the newspaper report misrepresented his discussion with journalists.
