Tinubu’s Second Year Presidency:
Fight for Full Implementation of ₦70,000 Minimum Wage Across the Board
End Insecurity and Wanton Destruction of Properties
Time for a Mass Working People’s Alternative
By RSM Secretariat
Tinubu’s Government and the Economy
By May 29, 2024, the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will have spent two years in office. It is both important and expected that the entire nation will reflect on the journey so far.
From the very beginning, the administration did not hide its embrace of anti-people policies. Since coming to power, the country has worsened both economically and politically. Tinubu’s economic policies have been entirely anti-worker and anti-people.
Nigeria is facing a severe social and economic crisis under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Inflation has surged to 34.19%, with food inflation exceeding 40%, making it increasingly difficult for people to afford basic necessities. The removal of fuel subsidies has triggered a more than 600% increase in petrol prices, with a litre now costing around ₦1,200.
The floating of the naira has led to extreme currency fluctuations and economic instability. Despite attempts to stabilise the currency, the naira has continued to depreciate and is now becoming one of the world’s worst-performing currencies. Foreign investment has dropped to $654.7 million.
The number of poor people has risen to 104 million, and unemployment continues to grow, with official youth unemployment reaching 8.6%. Millions of Nigerians are struggling to access food, prompting even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to name food insecurity an immediate policy priority.
Tinubu’s reforms have only deepened the economic crisis, pushing millions of working people into abject poverty. According to the IMF, nearly two years after their introduction, the Nigerian government’s harsh economic reforms have not benefited the average citizen.
After assuming office in May 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu launched a sweeping reform programme that both his government and the IMF claimed was necessary to fix public finances. However, these measures have come at a severe cost for ordinary Nigerians, who are now enduring the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics reports that 133 million people live in multidimensional poverty, facing deprivation in areas such as sanitation, healthcare, food, and housing.
Insecurity and Kidnappings
Between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in 582 reported kidnapping cases, with approximately ₦5 billion (USD 3,878,390) paid in ransoms. On average, over 4,000 abductions occur in Nigeria each year. In January 2022 alone, 1,486 Nigerians fell victim to insecurity and kidnapping — 915 people were killed, and 571 were kidnapped.
The rise in kidnapping cases has been linked to various factors, including the deepening economic crisis, unemployment, and widespread poverty. The consequences of kidnapping are devastating, as victims’ families and communities are often forced to pay enormous ransoms, resulting in financial hardship and emotional trauma.
Insecurity and kidnapping have become rampant in Nigeria, with a significant surge over the past decade. The North Central and Northwest regions have been the hardest hit, where terrorism and banditry have spread rapidly.
Structural Fraud and Human Rights Abuses
Corruption under the Tinubu government has become a pressing issue. The administration has faced accusations of fraudulent practices, mismanagement, and a lack of accountability, particularly in the controversies surrounding the 2025 budget and the police recruitment process.
The Tinubu government operates with impunity—dismissing corruption allegations without investigation and misusing public resources. Political appointees live lavishly at public expense. Business interests and family loyalties dominate appointments, enabling politicians and officials to enrich themselves through dubious deals and the awarding of profitable contracts to loyalists.
Nigeria’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) continues to reflect its deep-rooted systemic corruption. In 2023 alone, Nigerians paid an estimated $1.26 billion in cash bribes to public officials.
While the Tinubu administration has made symbolic moves—such as suspending officials accused of corruption (e.g., Minister Betta Edu) and launching investigations into previous administrations’ financial dealings—corruption remains widespread. In reality, no substantial progress against corruption is expected under Tinubu.
Much like under the Buhari regime, socialists, journalists, bloggers, and human rights activists have faced increasing threats, arrests, and detention. At least 42 journalists were attacked, harassed, or denied access during the 2023 general elections. In 2024, Nigeria topped Africa’s list for attacks on journalists, with 76 recorded incidents.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Nigerian military has committed grave human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and incommunicado detentions, particularly in the northeast. Security forces have also been accused of torture and unlawful detentions.
Under the Tinubu administration, press freedom violations have increased, with at least 56 journalists assaulted or harassed by security forces or unidentified individuals during the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations.
During last year’s #EndBadGovernance protests, nearly two thousand protesters were arrested nationwide. As of now, 11 leading members are still facing treason charges in court.
The Tinubu administration is pushing for the introduction of a new Cybercrime Act, widely seen as an attempt to silence growing dissent on social media.
On April 7, a nationwide protest was held against the Cybercrime Act, the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State, and the deepening economic crisis across the country. We condemn the use of teargas and live ammunition against peaceful demonstrators. States affected by the crackdown included Yobe, Delta, Rivers, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The state’s brutal suppression of peaceful protests is deeply alarming and must be challenged by the Nigerian people. Democracy loses all meaning when citizens are denied the right to express their grievances through protest.
The violent disruption of protests organised by the Take It Back (TIB) movement by armed police constitutes a direct assault on democratic rights.
In a related development, Nigerian rapper Eedris Abdulkareem released a protest song titled “Tell Your Papa”, in which he called on President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, to urge his father to address Nigeria’s worsening economic and security crises. In response, the Federal Government—through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)—instructed radio and television stations not to air the song, claiming it was inappropriate for broadcast.
For Full Implementation of the New Minimum Wage Across the Country
Since coming to power, the Tinubu government has failed in many ways. After sustained mass struggle, the government reluctantly approved a ₦70,000 minimum wage. However, this new national minimum wage is inadequate—especially when compared with the exchange rate and current inflation levels, which erode its value daily.
At the time of writing, its dollar value stands at under US$42—almost half the US$83 equivalent of the previous ₦30,000 minimum wage when it was introduced in 2019. Nevertheless, we recognise that ₦70,000 represents an improvement over ₦30,000 in the context of a raging cost-of-living crisis.
The labour movement must fight for its full implementation without job losses, while also organising resistance against the Tinubu administration’s continued anti-poor, neo-liberal policies.
Despite the massive increase in the prices of basic commodities and overall cost of living, the federal government has not yet commenced full payment of the new minimum wage. Some state governors, despite having access to significant public funds, have also refused to implement it.
There is no doubt that Tinubu’s administration, along with other political office holders, continue to live extravagantly, looting national resources through jumbo allowances—while refusing to pay workers a living wage. They are serving the needs of the Nigerian ruling class, who profit the most out of the exploitation of the working class. Workers in the private sector and state employment will need to fight hard before seeing any real wage increase.
Workers must begin to take independent action in their workplaces and put pressure on union leadership to fight for decent wages, fair working conditions, and against anti-poor policies. Without such steps, the so-called concessions claimed by labour leaders will remain a mirage.
The struggle for a living minimum wage must be directly linked to the broader fight against the high cost of living and for improved living standards for working people. Historically, the story of the minimum wage in Nigeria is one of consistent failure and/or unwillingness of the capitalist ruling class to raise living standards.
For the record, Nigeria’s first minimum wage in 1981 was ₦125, which at the time equaled US$205. Today, that amount would be equivalent to around ₦346,000—five times the current ₦70,000 minimum.
This is why the struggle must be tied to the building of a genuine political alternative based on a socialist programme—one that puts the needs of the working people above the profits of the capitalists and the ruling elite.
Time for a Mass Workers’ Party
As things stand, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), are essentially the same in terms of policy. The Tinubu/APC administration continues to follow the dictates of the IMF and World Bank, implementing neo-liberal economic policies that have devastated the lives of ordinary people.
It is particularly unfortunate that the Labour Party, which was supposedly established by the labour movement, has joined this charade. Its presidential candidate paid ₦30 million just to obtain a nomination form—an indication that the party, despite its name and origin, has become either a second-tier version of the main capitalist parties or, worse, a dumping ground for political rejects from the ruling class. At the time of writing, the party is embroiled in a leadership crisis with conflicting court rulings.
The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), established by activists and socialists, provided a socialist alternative during the 2019 elections, despite limited resources and reach. The party was undemocratically and unjustly deregistered by INEC, clearly acting in the interests of the ruling capitalist parties.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the labour movement—especially the NLC and TUC—continues to mislead workers with unprincipled and directionless politics.
What’s urgently needed is for workers and youth to rebuild their own organisations, particularly the trade unions. This is essential given the wave of attacks that will continue. We must recognise that events can shift quickly. Mass struggles may erupt in response to the cost-of-living crisis and other pressing issues, especially as the global capitalist crisis deepens—both in advanced economies and in neo-colonial nations like Nigeria.
The only real solution to these recurring crises, which push humanity into deeper poverty and suffering, is to end capitalism and build a workers’ and poor people’s government armed with a socialist programme. This can only be achieved through a revolutionary uprising led by the working class, oppressed youth, and the poor masses.
The Revolutionary Socialist Movement (RSM) has decided to work within the Africa Action Congress (AAC) in the coming period—while remaining vigilant and also supporting the campaign for independent candidacy. At this moment, the AAC stands as the only mass platform for those seeking genuine change. We are committed to contributing to the building of a mass workers’ political alternative based on a socialist programme and the fight for a workers’ government.
We call all workers, unemployed, youths to join us in our struggle!
