*Over Alleged Poor Service Conditions
*Compliance Taskforce To Patrol Offices
*Debts To Workers, Indigenous Contractors Baffle Neutrals
By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
Seeking better conditions of service under the stewardship of Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, about 40,000 workers of FCT Administration (FCTA) are expected to, today, make good their threat to kick off an indefinite strike.
Notably, it is the first general strike by all FCTA workers in almost a decade spanning the tenures of several past FCT Ministers as most of the latter took timely action to prevent such strikes as well as the concomitant economic and PR blows from same.
Today’s planned industrial action, described by the workers as ‘Mother of all Strikes’, is expected to see the normally busy offices of FCTA’s Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs), particularly the headquarters located on 1 Kapital Road, Area 11, Garki, Abuja, turn into ghost towns.
The Area 11 building complex houses Wike’s offices.
Only recently too, indigenous contractors who claimed the Wike Administration owes them over N5.2billion in executed job bills, protested in front of the Minister’s gate, but were tear-gassed by his security operatives even as concerns have been raised over accountability in the face of more than double federal monthly allocations to the Administration since President Bola Tinubu assumed office.
People&Politics gathered that already the workers’ umbrella Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC), led by its president, Comrade Rifkatu Iortyer, has set up a compliance taskforce to ensure full success of the strike.
A copy of a notice circulated to all staff members by JUAC yesterday, and obtained by People&Politics, ordered workers to stay at home and not bother to come to office, beginning today.
Crafted in the usual labour language and tone, the all-capital letters instruction, signed by JUAC publicity secretary, stated, inter alia: “We Bring You Solidarity Greetings. All FCTA/FCDA SDAS: We Hereby Solicit Your Cooperation To Enable Us Succeed In Our Agitations For A Better Working Condition In FCTA.
“By This Notice, All Staff Are Advised To Stay At Home As The Strike Action Declared By JUAC Commences On Monday January 19th, 2026.
“We Maintain, Do Not Come To Work From Tomorrow Because JUAC Taskforce Will Be On Ground To Ensure Compliance.”
The notice instructed all the workers to “maintain status quo” and await further directives from JUAC.
It ended by expressing optimism of a sure victory in the ‘fight’ against the FCTA authorities.
“Àluta Continua!!!! Victoria Acerta!!!
Enough Is Enough!!!!!”, JUAC stated in Portuguese; with the phrase meaning “the struggle continues, victory is certain.”
A flurry of lengthy meetings throughout the weekend by JUAC officials to fine-tune strategies for a successful strike, People&Politics learned, saw the labour leaders dot the I’s and cross the T’s in the tune-up to today.
A source at the meetings informed the paper that the conversations were so intense that some of the JUAC leaders hardly had time to even answer phone calls.
“Such was the level of preparations. And now, we’re ready. We’re just normal Nigerian workers asking that we be given our statutory rights and benefits by a Minister who, unfortunately, obviously does not believe workers’ entitlements, outside salary payment, is a priority.
“Even the salary,averagely, often arrives late, sometimes well into the new month –something no previous FCT Minister did. But salary isn’t our grouse for now,” a labour leader told People&Politics.
It would be recalled that the workers opted for indefinite strike following the failure of last-minute meetings between JUAC leaders and FCTA Management. The talks were called by the latter in a bid to stave off any industrial action.
There was no headway in the talks last week between both parties as the FCTA Management team, led by Head of Service, Mrs Nancy Sabanti Nathan -Wike’s appointee – reportedly could not guarantee Ministerial agreement for most of the workers’ demands.
The talks came in the wake of a seven-day ultimatum handed the Management by the union, penultimate week, to address the demands or face an indefinite strike. The ultimatum expired last week.
Interestingly, no word has come from the Administration in relation to the strike.
Last year, the staff members downed tools in a three-day protest over largely same demands for better conditions of service.
This time around, among the 18-point demand by the employees was the vexed issue of five months’ N32,000 Wage Award arrears –with the Management hurriedly reducing the backlog by paying for one month last week, ahead the talks –an action that seemed not to assuage the irate workers.
Some of the other demands include: lack of statutory training and retraining of staff; the tenure extension granted some Directors and Permanent Secretaries who had reached mandatory retirement age -an action JUAC noted flagrantly violates the Public Service Rules (PSR); alleged non-remittance to Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) of deductions made from workers’ salaries, which the employees stressed jeopardizes their future; non-payment of relevant allowances to gardeners and others; the alleged rigging of promotion examinations to ensure near-mass failure “so as to dodge the payment of promotion arrears to staff,” as well as several others.
… People&Politics Will Provide Updates As The Strike Unfolds.
*PHOTO CAPTION: File photo of FCTA workers’ protest over poor service conditions…last year.
