Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has renewed calls for urgent wage reviews and comprehensive economic reforms, warning that the country’s worsening economic conditions are steadily diminishing the value of labour and increasing hardship for citizens.
In a message marking International Workers’ Day shared on Friday, Obi paid tribute to Nigerian workers across different sectors, describing them as the foundation of national stability and growth.
“Workers are the backbone of every nation,” he said, adding that Nigerian workers “continue to sustain our families, communities, institutions, and national economy, even in the face of severe hardship and uncertainty.”
He expressed deep concern over the declining purchasing power of wages, noting that inflation and rising living costs have significantly weakened the ability of workers to meet basic needs.
“It is deeply painful that those who wake up every day to teach, heal, build, farm, produce, transport, protect, and serve our nation are still denied the dignity and fair reward their labour deserves,” he said.
Obi further warned that the current minimum wage has become inadequate in today’s economic reality.
“In today’s Nigeria, the minimum wage can no longer guarantee even the most modest standard of living, as inflation, rising food prices, transportation costs, and economic hardship continue to erode the value of honest work,” he noted.
Highlighting the central role of human capital in national development, he stressed that the well-being of workers is directly tied to the country’s progress.
“No nation can truly develop beyond the strength, productivity, and well-being of its workforce. When workers suffer, the nation suffers. When workers are empowered, the nation prospers.”
Beyond economic concerns, Obi encouraged workers to take an active role in shaping the country’s leadership through democratic processes.
“They owe it to themselves, their children, and future generations to support and demand leadership built on competence, character, capacity, credibility, and compassion,” he said.
He concluded with a call for a more equitable society, emphasizing the need for fairness and respect for labour as the foundation for national growth.
“A productive nation must be built on justice, fairness, and respect for labour. That is the Nigeria we must work together to achieve.”
