2026: NLC tasks workers, citizens to stay vigilant, defend future 

 

As Nigeria join the rest of the world to celebrate the year, 2026 amid deepening economic hardship and social strain, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a strong rallying call to workers and citizens to remain united, vigilant and patriotic in the face of mounting challenges. 
In a New Year message, the labour centre said the struggles of 2025, though severe, have only strengthened its resolve to fight for social justice and equitable redistribution of wealth.
Speaking on behalf of organised labour, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, acknowledged that the past year exposed Nigeria’s socioeconomic vulnerabilities but insisted that workers’ determination was not weakened. “The past year was no doubt challenging and exposed our vulnerabilities, but they did little to dip our focus or resolve,” Ajaero said.
He stressed that the labour movement is entering 2026 “not with naive hope, but with a fortified resolve, strengthened by struggle and clarity,” adding that organised labour remains committed to national cohesion built on fairness and justice.
The NLC welcomed recent assurances by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on improved engagement with labour, noting that the opening for dialogue was achieved through sustained pressure and collective action. “These promises were secured through our relentless pressure and collective voice,” Ajaero said, pledging that labour would engage “deeply, consciously and patriotically.”
However, the union leader warned that dialogue must translate into action, urging workers and the wider citizenry to stay alert. “Our primary message to workers and indeed the citizenry as we step into 2026 is to be vigilant and patriotic,” he declared.
According to Ajaero, the duty of organised labour in the coming year is “crystal clear”: to organise, mobilise and hold all tiers of government accountable. He said the NLC would only support governments and political actors who demonstrate genuine, pro-people policies backed by concrete action.
The labour movement, he added, would resist politicians who thrive on deception and division. “We reject outright those mercantilistic politicians whose stock-in-trade are empty promises, divisive rhetoric and policies that decimate our living standards for the benefit of a parasitic few,” Ajaero said.
Looking ahead, the NLC promised that its mobilisation efforts in 2026 would be “strategic and tactful” and guided by the broader interest of the Nigerian nation, rather than partisan considerations.
The labour leader emphasised that real hope for Nigerians can only emerge when economic burdens are reduced or fairly shared. “Hope is possible only when trust is strengthened and when hopes and dreams are fulfilled and not betrayed,” he said.
Against the backdrop of rising inflation and worsening cost of living, the NLC renewed its demand for an urgent wage review. Ajaero argued that workers’ incomes must guarantee dignity. “A worker’s income must guarantee life, not mere survival, in furtherance of Mr President’s promise to pay living wages,” he said, adding that labour would pursue this demand through all legitimate means.
On security, the NLC reaffirmed that safety is a fundamental right and a core responsibility of the state. While acknowledging recent improvements in some areas, Ajaero urged the government to consolidate on the gains. “The people are deserving of peace and security wherever they live. The government should not look back,” he said.
Ajaero reminded workers that organised labour’s greatest strength lies in unity. “The light we kindle is the light of collective action. The hope we embody is the hope of organised labour,” he said, warning against attempts by elites to divide Nigerians along artificial lines.
He cautioned that workers and the masses must refuse to be manipulated by forces that benefit from division. “We are the same people; workers and the masses; a people united by oppression and fear,” the NLC president noted.
Calling for renewed solidarity, Ajaero urged Nigerians to make 2026 a turning point. “Let us move forward more united, more organised and more resolved than ever before. The power of the working class and the oppressed can become the most potent glue that holds us together,” he said.
As he saluted Nigerians for surviving the trials of 2025, Ajaero ended with a call to action for the year ahead. 
“Our power continues to be in our numbers and our victory in our solidarity,” he said, urging workers and citizens alike to embrace 2026 with hope, strength and unwavering commitment to national transformation.