The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a binding directive for workers in states failing to fully implement the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act to take the 2026 May Day celebrations to the streets, abandoning all indoor official ceremonies.
In a statement signed by NLC General Secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, the Congress condemned widespread violations of the law by several state governments, specifically citing failures in consequential salary adjustments for senior workers, timely payments, and the exclusion of local government staff, primary school teachers, and health personnel.
Describing these actions as “not only a breach of the law but an assault on the dignity of Nigerian workers,” the NLC declared that holding ceremonial gatherings in government houses under such conditions would amount to endorsing injustice.
The Congress mandated that workers in affected states must assemble at designated Labour Houses, union secretariats, or public squares by 7:00 a.m. on May 1, 2026. From there, they will embark on peaceful but resolute processions through major streets in state capitals.
The marches are scheduled to terminate at key government institutions either State Government Houses, Houses of Assembly, or Offices of Heads of Service where formal memoranda of demands will be submitted.
The NLC emphasized that this directive represents a shift from passive commemoration to active resistance. The statement warned State Council chairpersons against substituting the planned street actions with indoor celebrations in defaulting states, threatening immediate disciplinary measures for non-compliance.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage bill into law on July 29, 2024, raising the national minimum from N30,000 to N70,000 following negotiations between the government, labour unions, and the private sector.
However, nearly two years after enactment, the NLC reports that numerous states continue to violate provisions of the Act. The Congress noted that the 2024 Minimum Wage Act “did not come through supplication; it came through struggle,” adding that “to celebrate May Day indoors while our rights are trampled upon is to betray that legacy”.
The labour movement has recently proposed a new minimum wage of N154,000, citing galloping inflation and unsustainable earnings, as the current N70,000 has been significantly eroded by rising living costs.
“Let us therefore return to the streets!” the NLC declared, urging workers nationwide to defend their rights and the gains secured through years of agitation.
The Congress confirmed that the directive is binding on all affected State Councils, with compliance reports expected immediately following the May Day observances.