May Day: Govt that can’t stabilise cost of living is failing its workers — ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what it described as a failure to protect Nigerian workers from worsening economic conditions, rising insecurity, and limited job opportunities.

In a Workers’ Day statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, the ADC said a government that cannot guarantee safety, create jobs, or stabilise the cost of living is a government that is failing its workers.

The party said many Nigerians are working harder but earning less, as inflation continues to erode wages and the cost of living rises across key sectors, including food, housing, transport, and energy.

The party attributed the situation to policy failures, arguing that insecurity has disrupted farming and business activity, while job creation has not kept pace with the growing workforce.

It added that there has been no meaningful intervention to cushion the impact of inflation on Nigerian workers, emphasising that it is committed to building an economy that creates jobs, stabilises prices, and ensures that productivity translates into improved incomes.

The party stressed that Nigerian workers are not asking for charity but fairness, adding that “a nation that does not reward work cannot build prosperity.”

The ADC expressed its belief that the dignity of labour must be matched by the dignity of reward, stressing that “This requires an economy that is deliberately structured to create jobs, support enterprise, and ensure that productivity translates into real income for workers.”

The statement read: “On this Workers’ Day, the African Democratic Congress stands in solidarity with millions of Nigerian workers whose daily effort sustains this country, even as the system, under the leadership of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, continues to fail them.

“Across Nigeria today, workers are doing more and earning less. Rising costs of food, transport, housing, and energy have eroded the value of Nigerian workers daily and monthly wages. For many, hard work no longer guarantees stability, dignity, or upward mobility. This is not sustainable. And it is not acceptable.

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“This hardship is not accidental. It is the direct consequence of policy choices and governance failures by the APC. Insecurity remains widespread, making it difficult for farmers to produce and for businesses to operate. Job creation has stalled at a time when millions of young Nigerians are entering the workforce. The cost of living continues to rise without any meaningful or sustained intervention to cushion its impact on workers.

“That is why, as a party, our commitment is clear: to drive job creation by unlocking key sectors of the economy, especially agriculture, manufacturing, and services; to restore security as a foundation for economic activity, ensuring that Nigerians can work, farm, and do business without fear; to stabilise the macroeconomic environment so that wages can regain their value; to reduce the cost of living by addressing inflation at its roots, from food production to energy supply; to support small and medium-sized businesses, which remain the largest employers of labour in Nigeria; and to ensure that policies are designed with the Nigerian worker at the centre, not as an afterthought. Workers are not asking for charity. They are asking for fairness. What they have received instead is neglect.”