*Wike Not Wicked, Minister Will Implement Everything In Agreement With Labour, Patience Important -Official
By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
Workers of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have been counting their gains -and, as yet, unfulfilled demands -, about 15 days after they suspended their strike which paralyzed activities in the Administration, headed by FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike.
Pressing home their demands for better conditions of service, the about 40,000 employees had on Monday, 19 January, 2026, downed tools following failure of the Minister and the Administration to heed their demands for improved career prospects and welfare.
Last year, led by their umbrella Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC), headed by Mrs. Rifkatu Iortyer, the workforce had staged a three-day protest to draw the attention of the authorities to their plight.
With apparently little response from the Administration, they proceeded to issue a 21-day ultimatum, and finally, a seven-day ultimatum, which eventually culminated in this year’s strike.
People&Politics which covered the industrial action, churning out several exclusive reports in the process, notes that in between the aforementioned developments, JUAC issued an 18-point list of demands to Wike and the Administration.
This included payment of six months’ arrears of President Bola Tinubu’s Wage Award in 2023, which was designed to soften the socioeconomic blows from the removal of fuel subsidy; lack of promotions; lack of training and retraining of staff members in violation of Public Service Rules (PSR); non-release of six months’ statutory overhead for heads of departments to be able to deliver on President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda; non-payment remittance of many months’ pension deductions; and several others.
After legal battles initiated by the Minister and the Administration at the National Industrial Court, where the striking workers were ordered to return to work immediately, the latter moved to the Appeal Court which set aside the ruling of the lower court.
The entry of Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Mohammed Bomai; national leadership of both Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC),both bodies on the workers’ side; and the widening of the strike circle by affiliate unions of both labour centres, such as Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and others, forced the Minister’s hand, compelling him to negotiate directly with the FCTA staff members -a stance negating his previous actions and utterances.
People&Politics had, at the time, quoting sources in the know in both the labour bodies and Office of FCT Minister, reported that the latter’s fear of a looming total shutdown of FCT’s economy on account of his stance on the strike matter, was the no-brainer that broke the camel’s back and compelled his willingness to negotiate directly -an action that finally ended the industrial action on 3 February, 2026.
After hours of nighttime talks, the contending parties consequently signed an agreement, with NLC and TUC General Secretaries, Comrades Benson Upah and A. Toro, respectively, on 3 February issuing a confirmatory joint press statement on the finer details of the agreement.
Following up on subsequent developments, People&Politics has now spoken to several staff members to gauge implementation of the said agreement as it affects them.
The workers, who spoke strictly on condition of anonymity as they are forbidden from talking to the press, listed some of their demands now partially or fully met by the Administration.
For instance, they claimed that during the strike, the Administration “hurriedly” paid one month Wage Award arrears and paid for an additional month after the industrial action was suspended, thus leaving a balance of few months’ arrears yet to be paid.
Nonetheless, a knowing union official told People&Politics that this violated an alleged agreement by the Administration, during the crisis resolution meeting with the Minister, that the then-balance would be cleared in two instalments of two months’ and three months’ respective bulk payments.
The workers, however, commended the Minister for paying January 2026 salary on time, reportedly received by individual staff members on 28 January, as against previous practice of extending the payment well into the next month.
On the vexed issue of 2025 overheads overhang, People&Politics learned that after the strike, between two to three months’ overhead has so far been released to heads of departments.
A few of the heads, who confirmed this to the paper, however, lamented that a massive percentage of the release would immediately be sunk into repayment of debts incurred during the lengthy period of non-payment as “we had to find painful,very painful,ways of keeping our departments running, even if skeletally. It wasn’t funny.”
Turning to promotions, a matter all staff members take seriously as the exercise determines their career progression, the workers claimed the process for 2025 promotions is underway, but lamented that only few persons, about 2000 of 7000 who sat for a previous promotion exercise, were promoted -a grouse the JUAC had brought to light in a previous press statement during the strike.
“I’m still very hurt over that promotion exercise. I passed the examination, but wasn’t promoted. Now, my juniors will be my mates while some of my mates have been placed ahead of me, as my seniors. How can anyone expect the best from me in such circumstance?”, a female worker cried out.
JUAC had alleged that only about 22% of those who sat for the promotion examinations were passed, alleging further that it was a ploy by the Administration to evade payment of workers’ rightful entitlement to promotion arrears.
Four of the workers who enjoyed the recent promotions confessed to People&Politics that they were yet to receive a kobo as promotion arrears, insisting “we’ve not been informed on anything to that end by the Administration. It is our right and we must have it. No past Minister here has failed to pay promotion arrears please.”
On unremitted pension deductions, the paper has now learned that seven months’ pension deductions have now been remitted to the employees’ Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).
A JUAC member, who confirmed this, said it was unclear how much the outlay entailed, merely adding that “billions of Naira are involved.”
The unionist flayed the Administration’s attitude in not remitting the money for months, stressing that the deductions were part of future financial security when workers retire from service.
“What’s the rationale in withholding this our money? Did they want to jeopardize our future, impoverish us at old age? But, we thank God Almighty that now the deductions have been remitted and we demand that it be done monthly in accordance with the relevant Pension Reform laws,” the unionist said.
Though the Minister’s spokesman, Lere Olayinka, could not be reached as of press time, a senior staff member in the Minister’s Office told the paper that “the Honorable Minister is committed to implementing all in the Agreement entered into with labour. Patience by workers is required please. He is a much misunderstood personality, but one thing I can tell you is, Wike is not wicked.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: The yoke is broken: Wike (3rd right) with labour leaders minutes after reaching a negotiated agreement to call off the strike.
