Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, has denied a media report of an alleged plan by the Senate to include a clause for the seizure of States’ and local government councils’ funds in the New Minimum Wage Bill to be proposed by President Bola Tinubu.
A national daily had reported that the National Assembly include in the awaited bill a clause to sanction states or LGAs that may refuse to pay the new minimum wage that would propose the seizure of statutory monthly allocation accruable from the Federation Account after the new minimum wage Bill is signed into law by the President.
But Adaramodu, who represents Ekiti South in a statement in Abuja, dismissed the report as unfounded.
The Senate spokesman said that it would be wrong to insinuate that the Senate or the National Assembly would take a position on a Bill that hasn’t been transmitted to it for consideration and passage.
Adaramodu said, “Mr. President in his national broadcast on Democracy Day only informed Nigerians that he would soon send the New Minimum Wage Bill to us (National Assembly).
“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, 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 would become law. And it is law that can specify sanction, not the National Assembly.”
He reiterated that the report attributed to him by one of the national dailies was a misrepresentation of his interactive session with the newsmen.
“My interview was well reported today in the national dailies. It was not exclusive to this particular paper. Other newspapers reflected adequately what I said. Why did the newspaper choose to misrepresent me?,” he said.
