By Amarachi Jim-Nwoko
ABUJA (PRESICE POST) – Nigeria Labour Congress made the charge in its Eid-el-Kabir message on Wednesday, with President Joe Ajaero saying the working class was “bleeding under the weight of neoliberal policies.” He said millions of Nigerians were enduring severe hardship as a result of policy choices that have worsened poverty across the country.
Ajaero urged Nigerians to use the Sallah period for more than prayer and celebration. He called it a time for “political education, grassroots organising, and the building of a united front of the oppressed.” Governance, he argued, should prioritize protecting lives and providing basics like food, shelter, healthcare, education, and decent jobs instead of favoring profit over people.
“As we mark Eid-el-Kabir, a festival of sacrifice and obedience, the NLC reminds all Nigerians that this celebration should be different,” the statement read.
The message lands amid mounting criticism from labour groups and civil society over reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The removal of petrol subsidies and foreign exchange liberalisation have been defended by the government as necessary to stabilise public finances and attract investment. International financial institutions have praised the moves, but they’ve also coincided with soaring inflation, higher transport and food costs, and tighter household budgets in Africa’s most populous nation.
The NLC tied the economic strain to worsening insecurity, citing kidnappings, bandit attacks, communal violence, and urban crime as signs of governance failure.
“The worsening insecurity that now threatens the existence of our nation, from banditry to kidnapping, from herdsmen bloodshed to urban violence, is a direct indictment of our governance model,” the union said.
It also accused political leaders of demanding sacrifice from citizens while showing little restraint in public spending and conduct. “This season demands that our leaders search for themselves and decide to work for a Nigeria that will work for the majority and not for the few who occupy high public offices,” the NLC said.
Looking ahead to 2027, the union signaled a more political posture. It warned that workers and ordinary citizens would hold leaders accountable at the ballot box, saying it would not forget “promises not kept, the brutalisation of peaceful protesters, and the deliberate impoverishment of workers under the guise of policy hard choices.”
The NLC framed the next election cycle as a potential turning point where workers, unemployed youths, traders, and other vulnerable groups could unite against what it calls anti-people policies.
“We are entering a phase where every vote must be a weapon against hunger, insecurity, and exploitation,” the union said.
