The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has delivered a harsh verdict on President Bola Tinubu’s administration, declaring that two years into his tenure, Nigerian workers and the general populace have experienced nothing but pain and misery.
In a strongly worded statement, NLC President Joe Ajaero said there has been no reason to celebrate since Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023. He accused the government of failing to deliver on its promise of economic recovery, noting that instead of renewed hope, Nigerians have been subjected to unprecedented hardship.
“When President Bola Tinubu took office, he promised bold economic reforms to rescue Nigeria from fiscal instability. Two years later, the only thing bolder than his rhetoric is the magnitude of suffering and hardship his policies have inflicted on workers and ordinary Nigerians,” Ajaero said. “Far from renewing hope, his administration has recycled the same failed neoliberal experiments that have only deepened inequality and impoverished the masses.”
He criticized the removal of petrol subsidy as a policy that worsened inflation, with fuel prices jumping from N187 to over N600 per litre overnight. Ajaero said Nigerians were promised that the removal would free funds for development, but the only visible outcome has been widespread hunger, job losses, and a battered local economy.
“The naira, left to so-called market forces, has collapsed in value. Families now skip meals, businesses shut down, and transport consumes workers’ meagre wages. None of this is new. We’ve seen it before—subsidy removals, devaluations, and IMF-style austerity that only enrich a few and leave millions poorer.”
He noted that workers’ real wages have been obliterated, while SMEs face over 150 percent inflation in input costs. Pensioners, low-income earners, and over 150 million Nigerians are now classified as multi-dimensionally poor. According to Ajaero, labour leaders are harassed, court orders are flouted, and protests are criminalised. He added that the only notable attempt at palliative—provision of CNG buses—is grossly inadequate due to poor infrastructure.
Ajaero said dialogue with labour has been replaced with threats and violence. “Workers demanding a living wage are met with batons while government officials live in luxury. Factories are closing. Jobs are disappearing. The same people calling for sacrifice travel in convoys and feast on bloated budgets.”
The NLC’s criticism comes as Nigeria appears for the first time on the list of the 10 worst countries in the world for workers’ rights, according to the 2025 International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index. The index, which ranks 151 countries, notes a global decline in workers’ rights, with Nigeria joining nations like Bangladesh, Egypt, and Myanmar among the worst violators.
The ITUC report states that 87 percent of countries violated the right to strike, 80 percent violated the right to collective bargaining, and access to justice was restricted in 72 percent of countries—a record high. The report also lists widespread arrests, violence, and harassment of trade unionists globally, including in Nigeria.
Only seven countries now have the top rating of 1 for workers’ rights, down from 18 a decade ago. The ITUC warned that if current trends continue, no country will hold a top rating within 10 years. It described the erosion of workers’ rights as a betrayal of post-World War II democratic principles and accused governments of bowing to the interests of the ultra-rich and corporate elites.
ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said, “This is a global scandal, but not unavoidable. It is the result of deliberate decisions by those in power. But with strong unions and active democracy, we can reverse the trend.”
The 2025 Global Rights Index will be officially launched at a special session during the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva on June 10, where testimonies from trade union representatives—including those from Nigeria—will be presented.
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