The fight between Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and the striking workers of the FCT Administration (FCTA) got worse yesterday when the workers said they would keep going with their strike even though a court order said they had to stop and threats of punishment were made.
The workers, who are part of the Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC), went on an indefinite strike on Monday because they said the FCTA had “breached trust,” “done nothing,” and “deliberately demoralized” its workers by not resolving a long list of complaints.
According to Daily Trust, the workers are asking for payment of five-month wage awards, along with 14 other things.
The strike has stopped all work in the FCT Secretariat and many other places, like schools and area council secretariats.
Since the strike, the FCT Secretariat and several other agencies have been unable to do their jobs.
Teachers in primary and secondary schools in the six FCT regional councils are also on strike.
Agencies such as the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), and the FCT Water Board are still closed.
After the shutdown, the minister took the union leaders to the National Industrial Court to get a ruling that the strike was against the Trade Disputes Act. He also said that JUAC, which is led by President Rifkatu Iortyer and Secretary Abdullahi Saleh, is not a registered trade union.
Justice Emmanuel Subilim told the workers to end their walkout yesterday so that government business would not be harmed.
Justice Subilim said that workers have the right to go on strike to voice their complaints, but that right is not absolute.
Even though the court got involved, the workers say they won’t leave their homes until their demands for better working conditions and the removal of Minister Wike are met.
Felicia Okoro, the Chairperson of the FCDA Chapel, told her coworkers that the strike will go on.
“They have the guns and the money, but the people’s power is stronger than theirs,” she remarked.
Our reporter spoke with a union official who said that the decision would be appealed today.
Wike threatens that you must resume or risk punishment.
Wike spoke to reporters shortly after the decision and told workers to get back to work or face legal action.
He added that the rule of law must be followed and that the FCTA had done a lot to address issues, such as paying salaries and making changes to the civil service.
Wike claimed that more than N12 billion had been set aside for January salaries. He said this showed that the company cared about its employees’ well-being.
He also talked about better revenue performance, saying that the FCT had made more than N30 billion in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Wike said in a harsh tone, “Workers are mostly to blame for the lack of development in states, including the FCT.”
He also denied social media accusations that demonstrators had driven him out of his office, saying that he had only gone outside to see President Bola Tinubu off at the airport.
He said that any more attempts to shut up government buildings would have “severe consequences.” He also said, “Seeing me in person is not a right.”
At the same time, Nancy Sabanti Nathan, the acting FCT Head of Service (HoS), has told permanent secretaries and heads of departments to keep track of who comes to work.
The HoS told all workers to start working again right away in a circular dated January 27. This was in response to a court ruling.
NLC said the court can’t end the workers’ strike.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said Wednesday that the National Industrial Court’s order on the FCT workers could not end the strike that is still going on.
It criticized Wike, the minister, for threatening to fire workers less than two hours after the court ruled on the strike.
Benson Upah, who is the interim General Secretary of the NLC, said in a statement that he didn’t understand why the court didn’t think about the “injustice” done to the workers.
Upah said that the workers’ National Housing Fund contributions were not sent to the right people, as required by the NHF Act, and that their pension deductions were not sent, as required by the Pension Reform Act 2014 (as modified).
“If the court’s goal is to end the strike and make the injured workers less determined, then it is wrong!” “Our hearts can never be broken, and workers are urged to stand firm in their beliefs,” he stated.
He noted that the NLC had warned all institutions, organizations, or people who broke the rules of the Pension Fund Act and the National Housing Fund Act that they would have to deal with them seriously.
He said, “We are upset by the decision of the National Industrial Court today, Tuesday, January 27, 2026, in the case of the Minister of FCT/FCTA vs. FCT workers or employees.”
The court said that the strike should be put on hold and the case should be put off until March 25, 2026.
“We know that the saying “court decisions must not and cannot please all parties to a dispute” is true, but we also know that justice must be done to all parties in a disagreement in different ways.
“Because this is an undeniable fact, we are worried that the court didn’t say or do anything about the Minister/FCTA/FCT’s ongoing crimes against the many workers in FCT.
“These crimes are:
1). Not sending National Housing Fund (NHF) deductions to the right people, even though the NHF Act says:
“Not sending in National Housing Fund deductions in Nigeria within one month of the deduction is a crime that can result in heavy fines for employers, ranging from N50,000 to N100 million, and possible jail time for directors or responsible officers.”
“There are further punishments, such as jail time of one to five years for personal liability.
“2). The Pension Reform Act 2014 (as modified) also provides rules for punishing people who don’t send in their deductions. The law says that pension fund deductions must be sent within seven business days of paying salary.
“A default costs at least 2% of the total amount owed for each month or part of a month that it lasts.” The employee’s RSA will get the 24% penalty every year along with the principal.
“Defaulting comes with other costs.” There are more things that the Minister/FCT/FCTA did wrong that we choose not to talk about here.
“We find it disgusting that the court didn’t think it was necessary to do right to workers by giving them even a small amount of injunctive relief.
“The combined effects of a long postponement and denial of injunctive relief are irreparably detrimental to the workers’ cause and indicate the court’s interest in this subject.
“The Minister of the FCT took the hint and didn’t wait for the ink on the court order document to dry before threatening to fire personnel. We don’t think that a sensible conversation can happen in such a bad circumstance.
“We also think it’s important to say that we all take a risk when some courts choose to write themselves out of existence. As a country, we can’t go down that risky road.
“We are putting all institutions, organizations, or people who break the rules of the Pension Fund Act and the National Housing Fund Act on notice for a serious engagement.”
He also told Congress workers and members to be on the lookout for this engagement “in case someone thinks we are bluffing.”
Other problems with the strike
Sources told our reporter that the strike is about more than the welfare issues that the FCT workers are talking about.
The sources said that several directors were upset with Wike’s way of leading because they said it had kept them from getting certain mandatory payments, like imprests.
Workers stated there was no outside intervention, but analyst Mr. Mathew Onoge said that people who were “running battles” with Wike might have started the strike.
Onoge said, “Many directors don’t like Wike’s style of leadership and say they haven’t been carried along.”
Wike told reporters earlier yesterday that this was true, saying that “politicians hijacked the strike” for reasons other than welfare.
The minister said that some of the workers’ demands were “frivolous” or already met.
About the Author
