By Sarah NEGEDU
The industrial crisis rocking the Federal Capital Territory Administration entered a new phase on Friday, as the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, took full control of the strike and ordered an immediate escalation across the nation’s capital.
This directive followed a closed-door meeting between the national leadership of the NLC and officials of the Joint Unions Action Committee, JUAC, the umbrella body representing workers of the FCTA and FCDA.
The meeting, which was earlier announced by JUAC in a notice to staff, was called to review the legal action instituted against the union by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and to harmonise next steps.
At the end of the session, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, declared the strike “a people’s struggle” and ordered mass mobilisation ahead of the next court appearance slated for Monday, January 26.
Ajaero, in a press release issued at the end of the meeting directed all workers in the Federal Capital Territory, including affiliate unions, civil society organisations, student groups, and community activists, to join forces with JUAC and shut down the city until the alleged abuses against workers are addressed.
The strongly worded statement personally signed by the NLC President, conveyed labour’s support, insisted that the industrial action by the FCTA workers was justified.
“Their ongoing total and indefinite strike action is not merely justified; it is a necessary and heroic response to a vicious cocktail of neoliberal attacks, gross administrative impunity, and a systematic violation of the fundamental rights of workers by the FCTA management and its political leadership.
“After the petition and consequent consultation with the leaders of JUAC, in which the unfortunate deliberate and calculated assault on the working class within the nation’s capital was laid bare, the need for concerted action became obvious. The litany of sins committed by the FCTA regime is a textbook case of capitalist exploitation and bureaucratic oppression.”
The NLC accused the administration of wage abuse, illegal withholding of five months’ wage award and promotion arrears, non-remittance of pension and National Housing Fund deductions, and intimidation of workers, including what it described as bans on phone use and the “incarceration of staff.”
Ajaero noted that such actions amounted to economic sabotage and a violation of constitutional and international labour standards.
According to him, “The case of Wage abuse was well established. The illegal withholding of five months’ Wage Award and promotion arrears is not an administrative lapse but a brazen denial of workers’ legitimate earnings, a direct attack on their livelihoods and a violation of the constitutional guarantee of remuneration.
“The non-remittance of pension contributions since May 2025 and National Housing Fund deductions is an act of economic sabotage against both active and retired workers, condemning them to a destitute old age. This is capital accumulation by dispossession, plain and simple. It is unacceptable.
“The intimidation of staff, including bans on phone usage and incarceration of workers, is fascistic tactic designed to cripple workers’ solidarity and silence dissent, in utter contempt of constitutional rights and international labour converntions.”
To press home the union’s demands, the NLC issued a set of directives that broaden the strike far beyond the FCTA. NLC ordered all workers across the FCT to intensify the shutdown, participate in compulsory daily prayer and solidarity sessions from 8am to 5pm, and converge en-masse at the National Industrial Court on Monday for the hearing of the case filed by the minister.
Ajaero therefore ordered, “A total escalation of the Industrial action. All affiliate unions within the Federal Capital Territory are hereby directed to fully align with and intensify the ongoing industrial action. This struggle is now the struggle of every worker in the FCT.”
He stressed that, “This is no longer just a labour dispute; it is a people’s struggle against an insensitive administration. Together, we shall make this action total, compelling, and impossible to ignore.”
Ajaero warned that the “patience of the working class is exhausted,” adding that the demands of JUAC have now become the demands of the entire labour movement.
“The NLC warns the FCTA management and the political leadership that the patience of the working class is exhausted. Their ultimatum was and is our ultimatum. Their demands are our demands. Unless these issues are quickly resolved, we will strengthen this struggle to ensure that abuse of workers rights is mitigated and their dignity restored.
“To the workers of the FCTA, NLC says: Your struggle is our struggle. Your victory will be a victory for every exploited worker in Nigeria.”
The strike, now in its fifth day, has shut down major offices of the FCTA and FCDA, with no sign of backing down despite the ongoing court case initiated by the minister.
