Unemployment feeding insecurity, Osifo warns as TUC re-elects leadership

By Ukpono Ukpong

President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Festus Osifo, has warned that rising unemployment and high inflation are major drivers of insecurity across the country.

Osifo issued the warning yesterday while addressing delegates at the first Quadrennial Delegates Conference and 20th anniversary of the TUC in Abuja, where he was also re-elected alongside 18 other executives to serve another four-year term.

Speaking against the backdrop of worsening economic challenges, Osifo urged the Federal Government to create sufficient employment opportunities and develop strategies to curb inflation, noting that joblessness is “indirectly feeding insecurity.”

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According to him, “Another issue that must be addressed is the level of unemployment in the country. When the people are unemployed, you are indirectly feeding insecurity. Government should create sufficient avenues for employment.”

He further linked the surge in food prices and shortages to banditry and killings in key agricultural regions like Plateau, Benue and Kwara states, where attacks have claimed over 200 lives in recent times.

“Beyond the naira devaluation, today workers cannot go to farm anymore because of insecurity. This is a major reason why food is becoming very expensive. We call on government to take decisive steps to address the issue of insecurity,” he stated.

The labour leader lamented the country’s economic difficulties, stating that “workers are the worst hit” by the persistent devaluation of the naira and poor wages.

He said, “As a country, we are experiencing economic difficulties and workers are the worst hit. On a daily basis our naira is depreciating.”

Osifo also expressed concern over the alarming number of out-of-school children, which he estimated to be between 20 to 40 million.

He called for urgent collaboration between federal and state governments to tackle the issue, warning that the growing population of uneducated children increases the risk of child labour and future instability.

“We cannot have a country where we have between 20 to 40 million out-of-school children. We feel that this is not correct, we feel that this is not right,” he said.

Highlighting the role of education in national development, he emphasized, “The more you educate people, especially children, the better they become members of society.”

He added that education is on the concurrent legislative list and thus requires coordinated action from all tiers of government.

In his acceptance speech following his re-election, Osifo pledged to intensify advocacy for better remuneration and labour rights for Nigerian workers.

“We will work with the respective affiliates, with the state councils, with the Women’s Commission to ensure that the plight of Nigerian workers remains a going concern,” he said.

The re-elected president also unveiled plans to strengthen union operations across states by deploying Assistant General Secretaries to zonal political boards and increasing subventions to state councils. He vowed to ensure that every state council has a functioning secretariat.

“I wish to make this singular promise: that we will never let you down. That we will work day and night,” Osifo said. “You have elected men and women who will be there to ensure that the mandate given to us today will be continuously sustained.”

Earlier, while addressing the theme of the conference, “The Future of Work – Ensuring Fair Labour Practices and Economic Justice in a Digital Era”, Osifo lamented the growing trend of casualisation of labour, describing it as unacceptable in a resource-rich country.

“It doesn’t speak well of a country, having all the resources, both material and capital, to create decent jobs for the citizens,” he said.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his goodwill message to the conference, advised affiliate unions of the TUC and Nigeria Labour Congress to prioritise transparency and internal democracy in electing their leaders, urging them to remain focused on the interest of Nigerian workers.

With their new mandate, Osifo and the incoming TUC leadership face the task of addressing the dual crises of worker welfare and national insecurity, both of which he argues are intertwined and demand immediate and coordinated government response.