May Day 2025: CAPPA urges FG, states to prioritise workers welfare, demands implementation of living wage

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has saluted Nigerian workers on the occasion of this year’s International Workers Day, while also calling on government across all levels to implement a living wage as a necessary step to prioritise workers welfare.

This was according to a statement signed and issued by Media and Communications Officer, CAPPA, Robert Egbe.

CAPPA, in a statement, noted that workers are the backbone of the Nigerian economy, yet continue to suffer a variety of challenges, including exploitation, unsafe work conditions, inadequate wages, all within a shrinking civic space and bleak economic environment.

Referencing data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and other statistical bodies, the nongovernmental organisation noted that between 2024 and 2025 for instance, workers have been at the receiving end of poor government policies which have worsened inflation, eroded real incomes and made basic goods and services increasingly unaffordable.

Worse yet, an estimated 13 million more Nigerians are projected to, by the end of 2025, join the existing 129 million others living below the poverty line due to ongoing inflation, according to the World Bank.

“Ironically, it is the neo-liberal and pro-market policies imposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Nigeria’s government through usurious loans and grants that are the main reasons behind the socio-economic crisis facing Nigeria today,” the CAPPA statement reflected.

While acknowledging the Nigerian government’s approval of a N70,000 minimum wage last year, the organisation stressed that the amount still falls short of what is needed to improve workers purchasing power amid worsening social conditions and the cost-of-living crisis.

All of these are compounded by some state governments’ failure to honour their commitment to a living wage for workers, the statement observed. According to media reports, no fewer than 20 states have yet to implement the new minimum wage for local government workers and primary school teachers.