The Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria (LACAN) has called for stronger domestic resource mobilisation and fair labour practices to confront the twin challenges of poverty and inequality in the country.
Acting National Chairman of LACAN, Patrick Abulu, made this call at the 2025 Annual Labour Conference in Abuja, themed “Improving Internal Resource Mobilisation for Financing Anti-Poverty and Inequality Interventions in Nigeria.”
Abulu, who described poverty and inequality as “The most critical project of our time,” warned that Nigeria could not overcome them by relying on external aid or temporary fixes, but by homegrown economic solutions.
He said: “Waiting for external saviours is a strategy of the past. The solutions to our problems, and the resources to fund them, must be generated from within.
“We must look inwards, plug the leaks in our national treasury, and demand a system where Nigeria’s immense wealth is mobilised for the benefit of all Nigerians, not just a privileged few.”
Speaking further, Abulu linked Nigeria’s poverty crisis to widespread labour casualisation and unfair recruitment practices, describing them as “primary drivers of poverty and inequality.
“You cannot finance the fight against poverty while simultaneously creating new poor. When a worker is denied a living wage, job security, and the dignity that comes with stable employment, we are not building a nation; we are constructing a powder keg of social discontent.”
The LACAN Acting President argued that the casualisation of workers erodes the tax base and undermines national development, insisting that the fight for fair employment conditions was inseparable from the fight for a prosperous and equitable Nigeria.
“How can we combat poverty when a worker can be hired and fired at will, with no benefits, no pension, and no future to plan for? We must dismantle the structures of casualisation and build a framework that guarantees decent work, fair wages, and the protection of every worker’s right to dignity.”
Abulu called on labour leaders, policymakers, and journalists present at the conference to engage in “frank and pragmatic deliberations” that would produce actionable outcomes, even as he expressed optimism that resolutions from the conference would provide a clear roadmap for national action against poverty and inequality.
