Working People United (WoPU), a workers’ coalition, has used its message for Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary on 1 October to back President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
In a statement signed by its Coordinator-General, Williams Akporeha, a former president of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the group congratulated Nigerians and the President. It said the administration was laying the foundation for a better future. “We are confident that our tomorrow will be better than our yesterday and today,” the statement said.
The message is the latest step in a campaign that has put the group at odds with parts of Nigeria’s organised labour movement. WoPU presents itself as a movement giving working people a stronger voice in politics rather than a traditional union. It has set up chapters in states including Delta and Lagos to mobilise support for the President. Ahead of its Lagos inauguration, some leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) told affiliates to stay away. WoPU called that directive anti-democratic and a breach of workers’ freedom of association.
In its anniversary statement, WoPU pledged to mobilise workers behind Tinubu’s re-election. It urged those responsible for protecting workers to tackle exploitation and abuse, and called for more investment in human capital and youth empowerment.
Akporeha has previously credited Tinubu with approving a new national minimum wage and shortening the wage review cycle from five years to three. At the group’s Delta chapter launch in July, he acknowledged that the removal of the fuel subsidy had caused hardship. He said he had first opposed the policy as a labour leader but was later persuaded that it was necessary to restore the government’s finances.
The group says it has registered more than one million members through its digital platforms. That figure has not been independently verified.
