Minimum Wage Bill: N’Assembly Not Proposing Seizure of States, LGs’ Funds, Says Senate Spokesman

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, has denied media reports of a speculated plan by the Senate to input a clause for seizure of states and local council funds in the New Minimum Wage Bill being proposed by the Executive.

A national daily had reported that the lawmakers had taken a position to propose to the Presidency in the new legislation the seizure of statutory allocation of the two other sub nationals which default in the payment of the new wage once it secures  presidential assent and becomes an Act of Parliament.

Adaramodu, in a statement Saturday, however dismissed the report as unfounded.

He submitted that it would be wrong to assume that the Senate would take a position on a Bill that hasn’t been submitted to it for deliberation.

According to him, “Mr. President in his national broadcast on Democracy Day only informed Nigerians that he would soon send the New Minimum Wage Bill to us.

“No one among us, not even the Senate President knows the content of the Bill. 

“How can we take a position on a document that we haven’t even sighted?

“During my interface with some journalists, who approached me for an interview as part of activities to mark the one year anniversary of the 10th National Assembly, I did not at any point state that the allocations belonging to states and local governments will be seized. 

“Nigeria is a federation, with sub-national governments that are autonomous. The misleading headline by the newspaper that allocations belonging to states and local councils will be seized is false and should be disregarded.

“We are still awaiting the Executive Bill and once we have it, it will go through all legislative stages and once this is done and it receives presidential assent, it becomes law. 

“It is law that can specify sanction, not the National Assembly.”

The Senate spokesperson maintained that the report attributed to him by the newspaper was a misrepresentation of his interactive session with the newsmen.

He said: “My interview was well reported today in the national dailies. It was not exclusive to the affected newspapers. Other newspapers reflected adequately what I said.”