Union Challenge Gains From Nigeria’s 4.43% GDP Growth

Nigeria’s latest economic growth has drawn sharp criticism from organised labour and workers’ rights advocates, who say the 4.43 percent expansion recorded in the second quarter has yet to produce meaningful relief for households and workers.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) questioned the value of the growth figures against the rising cost of living, falling purchasing power and difficult working conditions across the country.

The Federal Ministry of Finance had reported that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 4.43 percent year-on-year in Q2 2026, up from 4.23 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2025 and 3.89 percent in Q1 2026.

The ministry said the performance was putting Nigeria on track towards the Federal Government’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030, while strengthening the country’s position among Africa’s largest economies.

But the NLC said the figures did little to address the economic difficulties confronting ordinary Nigerians.

Reacting in a statement titled, ‘The Ministry’s “Growth” Charade: A Paper Tiger Disguised as Progress’, the Congress accused the government of placing emphasis on percentages while households continued to struggle with expensive goods and inadequate social services.

It called for increased government investment in infrastructure and social services, protection for local industries against harmful imports and wages that reflect current economic realities.

The labour centre also demanded improved access to education, housing, healthcare, transportation, water, sanitation and hygiene services.

For CDWR National Chairperson, Rufus Olusesan, the government’s presentation of the growth figures was politically motivated.

“This is a political statement orchestrated by the ruling elite to perpetuate themselves in office,” he said.

Olusesan said the hardship experienced by workers and other Nigerians had worsened three years after the removal of petrol subsidy, despite assurances that savings from the policy would support development and improve working conditions.

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), however, took a more measured position, describing the growth as encouraging but warning that the recovery remained fragile.

NECA said the 4.43 percent expansion was the strongest quarterly growth since Q3 2024, but noted that businesses continued to face high energy costs, poor infrastructure, limited access to affordable credit, weak consumer demand and rising production expenses.

“A 4.43 percent expansion does not automatically mean that businesses are thriving or households are better off,” it said, warning particularly about the challenges facing the industrial sector.