The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has criticised the Federal Government’s economic and governance approach, warning that policies crafted without workers’ input were deepening poverty and undermining democracy.
Speaking at the 85th birthday celebration and memoir launch of the Congress’ founding President, Hassan Sunmonu, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, faulted the new tax laws, rising public debt and what he described as the systematic exclusion of labour from critical policy processes.
Ajaero said the philosophy captured in Sunmonu’s memoir, “Organise, Don’t Agonise,” stood in direct contrast to what Nigerians were experiencing under current policies.
He accused the government of preferring “enrage over engage,” arguing that decisions on fuel pricing, taxation, wages and social services had been taken without structured consultation with organised labour.
“Tax laws that tax the national minimum wage, impose heavier burdens on workers and the poor, and worsen excruciating poverty are not progressive but regressive,” he said, insisting that labour was deliberately excluded from the Presidential Committee on Tax because workers were “meant to be on the menu.”
Raising broader concerns about governance, Ajaero echoed Sunmonu’s recent public query on Nigeria’s growing debt profile, asking: “Where are all the monies being borrowed by the federal government? It is from this standpoint that we must speak directly to the Nigerian Government.”
He warned that bypassing key stakeholders, distorting acts of parliament and ruling “by strong arm” eroded public trust and threatened national stability.
“The philosophy of “Organise, Don’t Agonise” also implies that the state has a duty to engage, not enrage. There is an urgent need for deeper, more sincere, and structured engagement with the trade union movement at all levels. Policies; from fuel pricing to taxation, from wage to social services; must be crafted with the active, respected input of those who represent the workers and the broader masses.
“To sideline the organised voice of labour isto design policies on shaky, exclusionary foundations, destined to generate crisis and agony as is being witnessed currently.”
The NLC President also demanded the immediate constitution of the PENCOM board and a halt to what he called confusion surrounding the implementation of the tax laws, cautioning that insisting on the current path was dangerous for tax administration and democracy.
While honouring Sunmonu as a symbol of courage, integrity and principled engagement, Ajaero said the celebration transcended personal accolades and had become a moment of national reckoning on the condition of Nigerian workers.
He called on the Federal Government to urgently address workers’ wages ahead of the next statutory minimum wage negotiation and urged a shift toward inclusive governance.
“Let the government move from agonising the people to organising with them.
“Comrade Sunmonu, as we launch your book today, we pledge to keep its central message alive. We will continue to organise. We will continue to challenge power, we will continue to fight for a Nigeria where no worker has to agonise over poverty, insecurity, heavy taxation or a stolen future riddled with national debt.”
Adams Oshiomhole Speaks.
Also speaking, former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and ex-governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, urged Nigerian workers, civil society groups and citizens to stop lamenting economic hardship and governance failures and instead organise to confront policies and systems that perpetuate injustice, poverty and insecurity.
Speaking at the public presentation of Sunmonu’s book, Oshiomhole said history showed that gains made by Nigerian workers were never products of sympathy from the state, but of sustained struggle, organisation and collective action.
“If it is wrong, fight for it. If you know it is wrong, fight for it. Don’t lament it. We don’t win justice with tears or emotional speeches. Those who benefit from injustice don’t give it up out of goodwill; you have to organise and force change.”
He recalled the introduction of Nigeria’s first national minimum wage, noting that it was not a gift from government but the outcome of labour pressure that led to legislation.
“Minimum wage was not granted out of love, it was an admission by the state that things could not continue as business as usual. When ₦125 was introduced and legislated, it laid the foundation for every subsequent wage struggle.”
Oshiomhole stressed that minimum wage was never intended as a standard salary for responsible employers but as protection for the weakest workers.
“Minimum wage is not meant for well-organised employers or governments to celebrate themselves. It is meant to protect those in sweatshops, those without walls, those without power. Governments and organised private sector employers are supposed to pay above it through negotiation.”
Drawing parallels between past and present economic realities, the former labour leader said the erosion of wages through inflation, devaluation and structural adjustment had amounted to “stealing from workers’ pockets without touching their salaries.
“That is what we called invisible robbery. Without cutting your pay, your wages are destroyed through devaluation and structural adjustment. They said there was no alternative. But everything has an alternative. Even life.”
Oshiomhole also faulted what he described as injustice embedded in Nigeria’s tax system, arguing that the poorest workers were often the most heavily burdened.
“Anybody earning below a living threshold should not be taxed, but if we don’t get our facts right, those who benefit from injustice will say we don’t know what we’re talking about.”
On the rule of law, Oshiomhole warned against confusing legal technicalities with justice, recounting instances where activists were brutalised by security agencies and then charged for offences committed against them.
“Justice and judgment are not the same. Law is only as good as the quality of minds that make it. When the law is unjust, you must fight it. Bad laws are not the Bible or the Quran; they are the aggregation of the views of those who rule at a particular time.”
He called for stronger alliances between labour movements and progressive civil society groups, saying meaningful reforms only happened when both forces worked side by side.
“We work better when we stand with the progressive segment of civil society. That was one of the greatest lessons of our struggle.”
Looking ahead, Oshiomhole urged Nigerians to channel their frustrations into political and civic organisation ahead of the next general election.
“We will not agonise over the death of democracy or the collapse of security, we will organise. We will challenge this government and all those that come after it to provide security, justice and dignity for Nigerians.”
Reflecting on personal sacrifices made during years of activism, Oshiomhole recounted how his absence from home and frequent arrests affected his family, particularly his children.
Oshiomhole described the book being presented as more than a memoir, calling it a manual for younger generations on courage, tenacity and principled struggle.
“This is not about money, It is about values, about reminding the younger ones that nothing meaningful is handed to you. You must organise, stand firm and fight for it.”
Human Rights Activist, Femi Falana who noted that Sunmonu has lived a fulfilled life, charged the current leaders of the NLC to emulate Sunmonu and drive a labour movement that would redeem the country back to Nigerians.
“This is one of the best countries in the world but 62 percent of Nigerians have been classified as dimensionally poor. NLC, your job is cut out for you,” he said.