As Nigerian workers mark May Day 2025, organised labour has expressed disillusionment over the state of the nation’s workforce, declaring that the promises embedded in President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda have yet to be fulfilled.
Labour leaders said rather than renewed optimism, the last two years have brought worsening economic conditions for the average Nigerian worker.
Although the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, acknowledged some progress, he painted a picture of widespread hardship, policy failures, and poor implementation of labour agreements.
Ajaero highlighted the recent increase in the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 as a gain for workers. However, he stressed that inflation and economic instability have rendered the wage increase largely ineffective.
The labour leader said that Nigerian workers have continued to struggle for affordable basic needs like transportation, food, electricity, and telecommunication services with current wages, and emphasised that no wage increment is effective without controlling inflation and stabilising the economy.
The NLC president was critical of the government’s economic policies, particularly the floating of the naira and the removal of fuel subsidies.
According to him, these decisions have made basic living unaffordable for average workers.
“Even if you pay workers one million naira, it won’t make a difference when inflation continues to rise and the naira keeps losing value. The cost of electricity, fuel, and food has skyrocketed; many workers now spend their entire salary on transportation and energy alone.
“The mood among workers is clear: they are hungry and frustrated. If we want a productive economy, we must ensure Nigerian workers earn a living wage,” Ajaero said.
Ajaero also criticised the current tax regime, labelling it “injurious to the workforce” and urged a policy rethink that prioritises the real value of wages.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP, the head of information and public affairs at the NLC, Comrade Benson Upah, lamented that the Tinubu administration’s policies, though launched with grand promises, have only intensified the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.
Assessing worker’s welfare in the past two years of the Tinubu administration, Upah argued that the removal of fuel subsidies and tariff increments have brought widespread desperation, hunger, and a cost-of-living crisis that continues to spiral for workers.
Upah argued that the market-driven model must be tempered with social protections and inclusive policymaking and urged the federal government to fundamentally rethink its economic approach.
Upah stressed that for President Tinubu’s government to achieve its Renewed Hope objectives, it must invest in welfare systems that uplift the masses.
He said, “The President campaigned on the Renewed Hope Agenda, promising to tackle poverty, insecurity, and revive the economy, but what we’ve seen is an onslaught of policies that have inflicted more pain. The removal of fuel subsidies, the floating of the naira, and astronomical tariff hikes have decimated workers’ purchasing power.
“This government is patently market-driven. The issue is the absence of a human face in policy implementation. There are no unemployment benefits, no functional social protection systems, no subsidised healthcare,” he said.
He stressed that President Tinubu’s government must invest in welfare systems that uplift the masses to achieve its Renewed Hope objectives.
“This government must go back to the drawing board and evaluate the impact of its policies; it must implement them with a human face. The IMF and World Bank say fuel subsidies benefit the rich. In the global north, they subsidise transport, food, and health, but here, they say subsidies create distortions,” Upah stated.
He insisted that a true renewal of hope must be reflected in affordable living, secure environments, and inclusive economic growth—not selective statistics or foreign policy prescriptions.
