By The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has raised concerns about the deplorable working conditions of workers in Nigeria, as the country marks International Workers’ Day on Friday, May 1, 2026.
In a statement issued on Thursday by Media & Communications Officer Robert Egbe, the group noted that workers in the country are struggling against soaring living costs, stagnant wages, and unprotected social environment that make efficient productivity unattainable.
The group urged “all tiers of government to move beyond symbolic gestures and confront the worsening socioeconomic realities confronting the country’s workers.”
According to CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, the government must provide actionable plans to tackle these predicaments as Nigerian workers have been surviving on everyday negotiation with inflation, hike in rents and overwhelming wages.
“May Day should not be reduced to ceremonial speeches. It must be a moment of reckoning. For millions of Nigerian workers, survival has become a daily negotiation with inflation, rising rents, and shrinking real incomes,” he said.
Among other issues highlighted by CAPPA include rising cost of houses in urban centres such as accommodation Lagos, Abuja, and Rivers State. It noted that these high costs have made it impossible for average earners to secure comfortable accomodations in the cities.
In addition, CAPPA noted that public services, including healthcare, education, and transportation no longer render efficient services, giving private alternatives a gap to explode. As a result, the country risks emboldening inequality and suscepting Nigerians to precarious living conditions.
“The organisation expressed particular concern over media reports of university lecturers and other public sector workers resorting to sleeping in offices and on campuses, unable to afford rent close to their workplaces.
“That Nigeria’s educators, entrusted with shaping the nation’s future, are compelled to sleep in their offices is an indictment of our economic priorities. It underscores a broader housing emergency that demands urgent, coordinated intervention,” Cappa stated.
CAPPA also raised question about the decision of the federal government to approve lands allocations to yet-to-serve political appointees, stressing that allocation must prioritise public needs over elite benefits
“n a period defined by acute housing stress for ordinary Nigerians, government decisions on land use must visibly prioritise broad public need over elite benefit. Anything less risks deepening public distrust,” CAPPA added.
In addition, Cappa noted that while the recent national minimum wage reviews is essential, it will only reflect when there’s a workable measure to tame inflation,
“An increase in wages that is immediately swallowed by rent hikes, transport costs, and food inflation offers little real relief. What workers need is a comprehensive framework that aligns income with the actual cost of living,” the statement added.
To access the challenges, the body called for an inclusive housing strategy, stronger labour protections, enforcement of fair wage standards across both public and private sectors, targeted social investments in healthcare, education, public transport to ease the cost burden on workers, and investment in social services.
