Services disrupted as FCT workers strike over long-standing labour and welfare dispute

Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Federal Capital Development Authority on Monday commenced an indefinite strike, shutting down government activities across Abuja.

The industrial action resulted in the closure of government offices, including the FCTA Secretariat, where heavy security presence was observed early in the day.

When our correspondent visited the secretariat at about 8:10 a.m., personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigeria Police Force were stationed at the entrance, preventing workers from gaining access to the premises.

A security personnel, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Staff of FCDA and FCTA are not allowed into the office premises because of the strike.”

The strike disrupted activities across all FCTA secretariats, departments, agencies, area councils and parastatals within the Federal Capital Territory.

The action followed an earlier notice issued by the workers on Friday, announcing plans to shut down government offices across the FCT and its area councils.

The decision was taken by the Joint Union Action Congress, which directed workers in all cadres to withdraw their services over what it described as the failure of the authorities to address long-standing labour and welfare issues.

It was gathered that the strike followed the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the FCTA management, which the unions said was ignored despite several meetings held during the period.

The ultimatum, which took effect from January 7, 2026, was contained in a statement dated January 8 and signed by the JUAC President, Rifkatu Iortyer, and the Secretary, Abdullahi Saleh. Copies were also sent to the Minister of State for the FCT, the Chief of Staff, the Head of Service and the Director of Security Services.

Speaking to journalists at the FCT Secretariat on Monday, the Vice President of JUAC, Musa Istifanus, said the industrial action was taken after repeated attempts to engage the FCTA management and the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, failed.

“The reason for being here is that we are shutting down the gates of FCTA, FCDA and all our parastatals and agencies. Everybody knows that the main issue is our welfare. Since the inception of this administration, we have been having issues with the management of FCTA and the Minister of FCT.

“He has refused to meet with the union. The union is a stakeholder in every organisation. The minister has refused to talk to us,” Istifanus said.

He said workers were grappling with several welfare-related challenges, including unresolved promotion matters.

“There are so many welfare issues. We have issues like promotion. Last year, in June, we had a protest here. The management called us and we resolved some issues. We thought everything would be fine, but since that time, nothing has happened,” he added.

Istifanus criticised the 2024 promotion exercise conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission, describing it as deeply flawed.

“The promotion of 2024 was conducted last November, and it was a mass failure. It was conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission using CBT. That was the first time the FCT administration was using CBT. We appealed that staff should be trained before the exam was conducted, but nothing happened,” he said.

He alleged that the examination was marred by technical glitches that were ignored by the authorities.

“Even when they were writing the exams, there were so many glitches. We communicated and talked, but the computers were not working. Still, the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission did not listen to the staff,” Istifanus said.

On the outcome of the exercise, he said the majority of candidates failed.

“By the grace of God, I think last week or two weeks ago, the promotion results were released. It was so bad that out of 100 per cent, about 75 per cent failed. Do you call it an exam? That is the number one reason we are here,” he stated.

The JUAC vice president also accused the administration of failing to fully implement an approved wage award and of defaulting on pension remittances.

“There is the issue of wage award, which the minister approved for FCT staff. They promised that the money would be paid immediately since September last year. But it was only last week that one month out of five months was paid, and that was because they heard that we were mobilising,” he said.

He further alleged, “They have not remitted our pensions since May last year. This contributory pension, National Housing Fund, and so many other deductions.”

According to Istifanus, efforts by the union to secure a meeting with the FCT Minister had been unsuccessful.

“We have called several times. We want a peaceful meeting with him so that we can let him know what the FCT staff are going through, but this man has refused to meet with the staff,” he said.

Describing the industrial action as indefinite, Istifanus said the strike would only be suspended if the issues were addressed.

“We don’t know. If the minister meets with us today and our issues are resolved, we will definitely call it off today. But for now, we cannot tell how long the strike will last. It is indefinite,” he said.

However, in a statement issued on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications, Lere Olayinka, said 10 out of the 14 demands presented by the workers had been met, while the remaining four were being addressed.

Olayinka said efforts by the FCTA to resolve the issues had been extensive and ongoing.

The FCTA also said some workers, including those under unions such as the Law Officers Association of Nigeria, had distanced themselves from the strike action.

According to Olayinka, such workers “deserve the right to be allowed access to their offices to perform their duties.”

He disclosed that top officials of the FCTA had held “several meetings with union leaders, including on Saturday and Sunday,” to resolve the dispute.

Olayinka said that at a meeting with leaders of the Joint Union Action Committee held on Friday, January 16, “the demands as well as the interventions of the FCT Minister were laid bare,” adding that “at no point did the Minister express unwillingness to address any of the demands.”

He said the unions were appealed to that “other pending issues were not severe enough to warrant the declaration of a strike action,” and that “dialogue should be adopted in resolving all other issues affecting staff welfare in the FCTA.”

Highlighting progress made, the statement said one of the demands was the “non-payment of outstanding five months’ Wage Award, payment of which has commenced.”

It added that “the outstanding 13 months’ Hazard Allowance and 22 months’ Rural Allowance for health workers have been fully paid by the administration.”

In addition, the Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Capital Territory (ARD-FCTA), was quoted as having written to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, appreciating him for “his exemplary leadership and commitment to the welfare of healthcare workers, as demonstrated by the payment of the longstanding 13 months’ hazard allowance arrears and the payment of one month wage award.”

On promotion arrears, the workers had listed “non-payment of 2023 promotion arrears and outstanding 2024 promotion arrears” among their demands.

The FCTA said the outstanding arrears, amounting to N286,166,772.46 and covering 724 officers across 24 secretariats, departments and agencies, “were approved by the Minister in December 2025 and are being processed for payment to the beneficiaries.”

The issue of elongation of tenure of retired directors and permanent secretaries was also addressed. According to the statement, the matter “has been resolved, with the Minister assuring the workers of strict compliance with the Public Service Rules.”

On training and retraining of staff, Olayinka said “all secretariats, departments and agencies have been directed to forward general and specialised training needs to the Permanent Secretary, Common Services, for onward submission to the Office of the Head of Service for further necessary action.”

Addressing concerns over the non-remittance of National Housing Fund deductions and pension contributions since May 2025, the statement noted that the issue “is the function of the workers themselves and has nothing to do with the Minister or the FCTA management.”

It added that “the Head of Service has therefore constituted a committee comprising the workers to holistically address all issues relating to deductions and remittances.”

On claims of a defective promotion examination process with a reported pass rate of about 22.5 per cent, the FCTA said “the figures and percentages presented by JUAC had no official backing,” adding that the union had been advised “to await the formal release of the results of the promotion examinations as directed by the Minister.”

The administration further said the issue of overstay by overseeing directors “has been reasonably addressed by the conduct of the 2023 promotion for eligible Deputy Directors,” adding that “the release of the just-concluded 2024 staff promotion by the FCT Civil Service Commission will conclusively address the matter.”

Olayinka said the Minister “has made concerted efforts to address the demands of the workers and will continue to accord them top priority,” adding that, given the efforts already made, “the strike action embarked upon by JUAC is unnecessary, ill-motivated and clearly aimed at achieving purposes other than the welfare of the workers.”

The FCTA also called on security agencies “to ensure that workers who have opted not to participate in the strike are allowed access to their offices to carry out their lawful duties unhindered.”