The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that Nigerian workers and ordinary citizens are trapped in what it describes as the worst survival crisis in the country’s history, driven by soaring inflation, rising insecurity, poor wages, and failing public services.
In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero, the union said current economic hardship has pushed many households to the brink and called for urgent government action to avert deeper social and economic strain.
Ajaero said in the statement that Nigerians, particularly workers, are “currently confronted with the worst survival crisis in the history of our nation,” arguing that the present hardship is more severe than conditions during the civil war and past austerity eras as inflation above 30 percent in 2024, currency depreciation and insecurity eat into incomes and savings.
He said the NLC raised the alarm to highlight what it called a mounting “scourge of financial insecurity” that has turned daily survival into a struggle for millions across the country.
In the document titled “Financial Insecurity: A Scourge in the Lives of Nigerian Workers”, the NLC said Nigerian workers now sit “at the bottom of the ladder” compared with their counterparts in many African countries, including some experiencing conflict.
“Today, the Nigerian worker sits at the bottom of the ladder when compared with workers in many African countries, including war-ravaged nations such as Somalia and Sudan,” Ajaero said.
He said work no longer guarantees basic sustenance for many households. “When work no longer provides adequate income to meet basic needs, survival becomes extremely difficult.
When daily existence turns into a constant struggle, workers become deeply insecure, exposed to overwhelming existential demands that can only be addressed financially,” the statement said.
The NLC linked the crisis primarily to inflation and shrinking real wages, saying the incomes of workers “have continued to decline, even as they work harder.”
It cited an inflation rate “over 30 per cent in 2024” and said this has “severely eroded purchasing power”, while questioning official data that suggest a slowdown in price increases.
According to the statement, real wages “have stagnated and, in many cases, collapsed” as salaries in both the public and private sectors fail to keep pace with the cost of living.
Ajaero described the national minimum wage of ₦70,000 as “grossly inadequate to meet basic needs,” noting: “That the price of a bag of rice exceeds the national minimum wage should prick the conscience of any responsible leader.”
The NLC said food inflation had pushed proper nutrition out of reach for many workers and their families.
“Food inflation has made proper nutrition largely inaccessible to the average worker, with food expenses consuming as much as 80 per cent of monthly income in many households,” the statement added.
Beyond general inflation, the union blamed the steep depreciation of the naira for amplifying the crisis by raising the cost of imported goods, fuel and services.
“The naira’s significant loss of value against major currencies has increased the cost of imported goods, fuel and services, directly driving up the cost of living for workers,” the NLC said.
It noted that higher fuel prices had triggered sharp increases in transportation and production costs, feeding into the prices of basic goods and services.
The statement said these pressures meant that “soaring inflation, a depreciating currency and stagnant wages have destroyed purchasing power, while the high costs of essentials—food, fuel, housing and transportation—consume most incomes.”
The NLC linked financial distress to Nigeria’s persistent security challenges, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacks and banditry and kidnapping across several regions.
“At a time when lives have become increasingly insecure due to widespread violence across the country—including Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping—it is important to draw attention to the parallel and worsening crisis of financial insecurity,” the statement said.
It described the relationship between physical and financial insecurity as “mutually reinforcing”, saying conflict had destroyed livelihoods, displaced families and wiped out assets.
“Widespread insecurity and displacement have created one of the gravest financial crises for Nigerian workers. In many regions, conflict and terrorism disrupt livelihoods, displace families and destroy assets—often leaving workers impoverished, when they are not killed in the process,” Ajaero said.
The union said many workers were facing the crisis without effective social protection, pointing to gaps in unemployment benefits, health insurance and pensions, particularly for those in the informal economy.
“Workers are also confronted with weak social safety nets. Unemployment benefits, health insurance and pension coverage remain inadequate or non-existent for many, especially those in the informal economy,” the statement noted.
Even in the formal sector, the NLC argued, contributory pension schemes often produced insufficient retirement income because of low contributions and economic volatility.
It also highlighted the burden of housing and transport, saying “urban rents and transport fares are disproportionately high relative to incomes” and that “some workers now remain in their workplaces throughout the week, unable to afford daily transportation home.”
According to the NLC, multiple taxes and deductions are further eroding already thin pay packets.
“Workers face numerous statutory deductions—taxes, pension contributions, union dues—without commensurate improvements in public services,” the statement said, adding that rising electricity and telecommunications tariffs and road tolls had intensified “the financial emasculation of Nigerian workers.”
The union said poor public infrastructure meant many households had to pay privately for power, water, security and healthcare.
“Poor public infrastructure compels workers to self-fund basic services. Significant portions of income are spent on alternative power supply, water, security and private healthcare due to the failure of public systems,” Ajaero said.
Summarising its position, the NLC said Nigerian workers were “trapped in a relentless squeeze between macroeconomic instability and systemic failure.”
It warned that the combination of high prices, stagnant wages, job insecurity and weak social protection had created “a vicious cycle of financial precarity in which saving or investing for the future becomes impossible and daily survival takes precedence.”
The statement urged authorities to adopt “urgent and comprehensive interventions to stabilise the economy, raise real incomes and strengthen social protections.”
“Without urgent and comprehensive interventions to stabilise the economy, raise real incomes and strengthen social protections, the financial insecurity confronting Nigerian workers will continue to undermine individual well-being and the nation’s broader economic prospects,” Ajaero said.
He added that addressing the crisis was in the national interest. “It is in the interest of the Government—and indeed the nation—that decisive action is taken to address these threats facing Nigerian workers,” the NLC president said.
