The divergence of views between the Tinubu administration and the country’s organised Labour movements comprised largely of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), on the state of the Nigerian economy is not unexpected. The government, on its part, believes strongly in the propriety of its economic policies to inspire the country’s progress.

But Labour insisted that the policies were directly responsible for the poor welfare of workers, as well as the economic difficulties they are contending with. The truth probably lies somewhere between the two extremes. Yes, this difference in perception had always been there but the exacerbation could not have been more pronounced as was displayed on the last Workers Day (May 1, 2025).

Such difference if properly harnessed can help to chart a more viable path for the development of the Nigerian economy and the enhancement of the welfare of workers and the ordinary Nigerian. The real take is that the government should not brandish any economic achievement until this has translated into improving the welfare of the Nigerian masses.
 
Represented by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, the Tinubu administration, during the celebration rightly acknowledged the challenges the average Nigerian is currently going through but pushed the blame to the global nature of the economic struggles Nigeria is currently facing.

Of a truth, the Tinubu administration expressed an awareness of the specific challenges Nigerians are experiencing, which according to it, include rising costs of living, hunger, insecurity, unemployment, loss of livelihoods, and the increasing pressure on families to meet basic needs.

To ameliorate the challenges, the government expressed intention to focus on “formulating and implementing policies aimed at promoting job creation, poverty alleviation, economic growth, and stability” as well as a “dedication to supporting the most vulnerable members of society”. The Minister, on behalf of the administration, concluded by stating its commitment and intention to frontally address these identified desires of the promotion of job creation, enhancement of decent jobs, poverty alleviation as well as economic growth among others.
 
Acknowledgement of the economic hardship is commendable, but not enough to get the country out of the woods. Besides, Nigerians have heard this and similar promises over the years, from one administration to the other such that it appears rhetorical and unimpressive to citizens bearing the brunt of the problems.
 
According to the organised labour movements, the challenges Nigerians currently face are the outcomes of poor policy choices by the Tinubu administration. This appears understandable. Many Nigerians are still suffering from the effects of the two major policy pronouncements of the Tinubu administration made two years ago, namely the removal of fuel subsidies and the harmonisation of the foreign exchange markets following which the price of basic consumer items went up, thus adversely affecting the economic fortunes of most Nigerians, especially fixed income earners.

While the policies may be considered desirable in some respect, to steer the ship of state in the right direction and maintain fiscal sustainability, the administration has nonetheless, not done enough to ameliorate the sufferings of the people through concessions or wage increases to enhance their purchasing power. Yet, the government has increased its own expenditure programmes on official operations such that the cost of governance, instead of being reduced as should be expected in an austere economic environment, has been drastically increased. These are facts visible to many Nigerians, and that is why the organised Labour movement put the blame on the struggling economy on the policy choices of the government.  
   
The issue of government reliance on taxes and dues without a clear strategy for economic recovery was also highlighted by Labour. Then there is the issue of the crisis in the real or production sectors of the economy where small and medium-scale enterprises, SMEs are barely able to survive and many closing down, due to a lack of needed security, especially in the agricultural sector; or the fluctuating exchange rate which has increased the cost of imported inputs and thus impeded the growth of many industrial concerns leading to job losses and diminishing standard of living across the land.

These challenges are part of the reasons some multinational companies have left the shores of Nigeria. Indeed, the newly approved minimum wage of N70,000 per month appears currently inadequate and thus in need of a further review. But organised labour must recognise that merely reviewing wages upward will most likely aggravate inflation that will erode workers’ purchasing power, thus rendering the increase illusory. At the same time, the administration should endeavour to take strong steps to reduce the perks of political officeholders. Government needs to show greater concern to the masses including retirees and pensioners. 
   
It is noteworthy that government officials, led by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso and the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun pointed out what they see as the government’s achievement on the Nigerian economy to the global economic community at the recently concluded 2025 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group in Washington D.C. where they highlighted the stabilisation of the foreign exchange market and the narrowing of the gap between the official and parallel segments of the market as worthy achievements of the administration. However, these are yet to translate to an improvement in the living standards of the average Nigerian. The government should work more assiduously towards directly impacting the welfare of Nigerians.
 
While government policy formulation and implementation by the Tinubu administration may not be perfect, it has to some extent stabilised the country’s public finances. However, the critical issue of reduction of the cost of governance is yet to be properly addressed, while some government policies have been branded as anti-poor, seemingly following the template of the Bretton-Woods institutions without sufficient consideration for people. These are the concerns of the organised Labour movement and the Tinubu administration will do well to take these into consideration in its further efforts in the effective management of the country’s economy which presently is weak.