The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday led nationwide protests across Abuja, Lagos, Anambra and several other states, warning that Nigerians are facing the worst survival crisis in the country’s history amid worsening insecurity, soaring inflation and collapsing living standards.
The demonstrations went ahead despite a late-night meeting between President Bola Tinubu and NLC leaders on Tuesday, which labour officials said failed to yield concrete commitments capable of halting the action. NLC President, Joe Ajaero, led the Abuja protest, joined by civil society activists, including Omoyele Sowore and members of the #RevolutionNow movement.
At the NLC secretariat in Abuja, protesters carried placards and chanted slogans demanding urgent action against kidnappings, banditry and violent crimes spreading across the country. Similar scenes were recorded in Lagos, where workers gathered in Ikeja to protest growing insecurity and the rising cost of living. In Anambra State, NLC members and affiliate unions marched through Awka, from the Labour House at Regina Caeli Junction to UNIZIK Junction.
The protest followed a resolution of the NLC National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on December 4, 2025. The Congress said the action was driven by escalating violence nationwide, unresolved agreements with the Federal Government, rising food and transport costs, and shrinking worker incomes.
Labour leaders cited recent high-profile attacks, including the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State on November 17, during which two school staff were killed. The NLC described the incident as emblematic of systemic security failures, warning that workers and their families now live in constant fear.
Addressing protesters in Awka, Anambra State NLC Chairman, Humphrey Nwafor, said the protest was a patriotic intervention to draw attention to a crisis threatening national stability.
“Nigerians are no longer safe in their workplaces, on highways, in schools, farms or even in their homes. Workers have lost colleagues, loved ones and livelihoods, while businesses are shutting down and agricultural production is declining,” Nwafor said, adding that insecurity has worsened inflation and transportation costs, deepening the burden on workers and the poor.
Beyond physical insecurity, the NLC warned of what it described as a parallel and worsening crisis of financial insecurity. In a detailed assessment released on Wednesday, Ajaero said Nigerian workers were facing “the worst survival crisis in the history of our nation”, worse than the civil war years and the era of austerity measures.
According to the labour leader, Nigerian workers now rank among the worst paid in Africa, even when compared with workers in war-ravaged countries such as Somalia and Sudan. He said inflation—estimated at over 30 per cent in 2024—has eroded purchasing power, while real wages have stagnated or collapsed.
“The national minimum wage of ₦70,000 is grossly inadequate to meet basic needs. That the price of a bag of rice exceeds the national minimum wage should prick the conscience of any responsible leader”, Ajaero said.
The NLC stressed that the protests were peaceful and constitutionally guaranteed, insisting they were not a declaration of confrontation with the government but a call for urgent, coordinated action. The Congress urged the Federal Government to strengthen security operations, improve welfare and equipment for security personnel, stabilize the economy, raise real incomes and expand social protection for workers.
In its notice to state chapters, the NLC also called on the police to protect protesters and uphold citizens’ right to peaceful assembly, warning that continued inaction on insecurity and hardship would deepen public frustration and economic distress nationwide.
“It is in the interest of the Federal Government, and indeed the nation, that decisive action is taken to address these threats facing Nigerian workers”, the Congress said.
