Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
ABUJA, Nigeria — Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has publicly challenged the rationale behind the Nigeria Labour Congress’ (NLC) planned nationwide protest, asserting that workers in the FCT have begun receiving due payments and questioning why the labour movement would escalate action under current conditions. The intervention highlights deepening tensions between the federal administration and labour unions over welfare issues affecting civil servants across the capital region.
In a statement issued through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the FCT Minister’s office said workers under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) received their January salaries last week, alongside a portion of long-standing wage award arrears. According to the statement, FCTA staff were paid one month of the five months’ outstanding arrears, bringing total arrears settled so far to two months, with plans to clear the balance in instalments alongside salaries for February, March and April.
Olayinka’s statement sought to counter the narrative driving the NLC’s protest plans, arguing that the administration has been fulfilling its financial obligations to workers. He noted that despite unresolved arrears, FCTA staff continued to report for work, with attendance recorded on the most recent working days prior to the announcement. The statement went further, questioning why the NLC would mobilise workers from other sectors, who ordinarily should be at their workplaces, for a protest centred on the FCT dispute.
“Meanwhile, the FCTA workers on whose behalf the NLC is organising the protest were at work last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They will also be at work tomorrow,” Olayinka said, drawing attention to the discrepancy between the union’s actions and the working status of the employees directly affected by the wage dispute.
The FCT government official also pointed out that many states have struggled with wage award implementation, with more than 20 states either halting payments or failing to implement awards entirely. In that context, Olayinka asked why the NLC’s protest focus was on the FCT, given that it is among the jurisdictions actively making progress in clearing arrears. “It is the FCT that is paying and has paid two months out of the five months’ arrears that is the problem of NLC,” he remarked, urging the union to clarify its specific demands from the FCT Administration.
The labour movement, however, has maintained that the planned protest is about broader issues of workers’ rights and welfare, not merely the wage award dispute within the FCT. Leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have issued statements affirming their position that the dispute reflects persistent violations of workers’ rights, including alleged intimidation by political leadership and failures to fully address workers’ welfare concerns. The planned nationwide action is framed as part of a wider assertion that the Nigerian labour movement will not neglect industrial matters affecting its members, even as legal challenges unfold.
The wage dispute itself has roots in an indefinite strike embarked upon by FCTA workers under the Federal Capital Territory Administration Workers’ Joint Union Action Committee, which began in mid-January over unresolved welfare concerns. The National Industrial Court intervened, ordering the workers to suspend the strike and setting a continued hearing date, but the unions have sought legal avenues to contest the ruling. The labour leadership argues that the court decision was one-sided and have urged workers to remain steadfast in their resolve.
The protest scheduled for Tuesday has drawn national attention amid signs of broader labour restiveness in Nigeria, where rising cost of living and delayed wage adjustments have fuelled tensions across multiple states and sectors. In Abuja, the dispute has taken on additional political dimensions, with some protesters openly demanding the removal of Minister Wike himself, carrying placards with slogans critical of his leadership. Such developments signal that what began as a labour grievance is increasingly intertwined with perceptions of governance and administrative priorities in the nation’s capital.
Analysts say the FCT dispute reflects deeper structural issues within Nigeria’s public sector labour relations framework. While the FCT Administration’s payments of salary and partial arrears represent some progress, the union’s insistence on a nationwide protest suggests that labour leaders aim to amplify grievances beyond isolated cases, highlighting systemic challenges in wage compliance, promotion arrears, working conditions and oversight of public employer conduct. These issues have featured prominently in labour discourse across Nigeria in recent years, with teachers, health workers and local government staff repeatedly citing unpaid entitlements and inconsistent wage award applications as triggers for industrial action.
For Wike, a former state governor and influential figure in the ruling party, the labour dispute adds to a series of complex political and administrative challenges since assuming ministerial office. His tenure has been marked by intense public scrutiny over urban policy decisions, infrastructure planning and relations with labour and professional groups. The ongoing confrontation with the NLC underscores the balancing act demanded of federal administrators in reconciling fiscal constraints with statutory labour obligations.
As the protest date approaches, both sides are likely to pursue alternate strategies. Government officials have emphasised compliance with legal processes and incremental financial settlements, while labour leaders appear determined to leverage public mobilisation to pressure authorities for more comprehensive resolutions. The outcome of the planned nationwide action could have implications for labour-government relations beyond the FCT, shaping Nigeria’s broader discourse on worker welfare, public sector accountability and the role of collective action in democratic governance.
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