Platform Governance and the Regulation of Digital Labour Markets in Nigeria: Gig Economy Platforms and Worker Rights

Digital labour platforms have rapidly reshaped service employment in Nigerian urban economies, yet the governance frameworks regulating platform relationships with workers remain underdeveloped, generating significant precarity for gig workers in the absence of adequate social protections. This study investigates platform governance and the regulatory dimensions of digital labour markets in Nigeria, focusing on ride-hailing, food delivery, and domestic services platforms operating in Lagos and Abuja. An institutional analysis approach is employed, combining regulatory text analysis with 80 in-depth interviews involving gig workers, platform managers, labour union officials, and regulators from the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. The research examines algorithmic management practices including dynamic pricing, rating systems, and deactivation policies, and analyses their effects on worker income stability, autonomy, and access to social protection. Original contributions include the development of a Nigerian Digital Labour Platform Governance Framework integrating elements of employment law, competition regulation, and data rights into a coherent regulatory architecture. Findings document significant income volatility, algorithm-induced precarity, and the systematic misclassification of workers as independent contractors to avoid employer obligations. The study proposes legislative reforms to the Labour Act and recommends the establishment of a Digital Labour Regulatory Commission under Nigeria's existing labour administration architecture. Keywords: platform governance, digital labour, gig economy, Nigeria, worker rights.