The organised labour has called for urgent action to address insecurity and poverty, saying both factors are major obstacles to job creation and decent employment in Nigeria.
Mr Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said this at a Pre May-Day lecture on Wednesday in Abuja.
The programme, with the theme “Insecurity, Proverty- Bane of Decent Work,” was jointly organised by the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Ajaero noted that insecurity and poverty continued to weaken economic opportunities nationwide.
He warned that unless the challenges were urgently addressed, Nigeria would continue to face rising unemployment, declining productivity and the gradual collapse of decent and sustainable jobs across sectors.
“About 90 per cent of jobs in Nigeria are in the informal sector, where workers lack security, pensions and decent conditions.
“Decent jobs are gradually vanishing across industries, and this trend is worsening inequality and poverty.
“If insecurity is tackled, farmers will return to their farms, food production will improve and jobs will expand,” he said.
Ajaero added that even workers in the formal sector were not fully protected, citing weak pension compliance and poor working conditions in many establishments.
He said that the dominance of informal employment had left millions without stable income, social protection or job security.
The NLC president called for urgent policy action, saying failure to address insecurity and poverty would continue to undermine productivity and economic growth.
Also speaking, President of the TUC, Mr Festus Osifo, said the theme of the lecture was timely given Nigeria’s current economic realities.
Osifo said insecurity and rising poverty levels were reducing productivity, worsening livelihoods and threatening decent work for millions of Nigerian workers.
He added that the forum provided an opportunity to reflect and develop solutions to workers’ challenges.
He urged government and stakeholders to move beyond discussions and take concrete action to improve workers’ welfare, strengthen the economy and promote social justice.
Also speaking, Mr Sam Amadi, Associate Professor and Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, said insecurity drives economic losses and transfers wealth from citizens to criminal groups.
Amadi said insecurity created fear, reduced productivity, limited labour mobility and weakened investment, thereby distorting economic activity away from productive work.
Amadi linked the crisis to weak governance, noting that poor democratic responsiveness reduced pressure on leaders to address citizens’ suffering and insecurity.
He added that weak labour laws and poor social protection systems left workers vulnerable, with limited legal safeguards for welfare and economic security.
He called for stronger labour solidarity and non-partisan activism to address inequality and improve accountability.
Ms Inviolata Chinyangarara, Workers Rights Specialist, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Nigeria Office, said evidence already showed that poverty severely undermined decent work and required urgent action.
She said the 1944 Philadelphia Declaration linked poverty to threats against global prosperity, noting that inequality worsened instability and undermined decent work.
Chinyangarara said increasing informality showed governance failure in spite of ongoing ILO interventions to support transition to formal employment.
She expressed concern over youth unemployment, underemployment and food insecurity, describing them as signs of a weakening social contract requiring urgent reconstruction.
She called for evidence-based research and stronger social dialogue through labour unions, stressing that decent work remained key to addressing Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges.(NAN)(
