Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Public servants across Nigeria under the aegis of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council began a three-day warning strike from midnight on Friday, October 2, 2026, following the failure of the Federal Government to address their demands on petrol prices, a wage award and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage, in an industrial action that grounded activities in federal, state and local government ministries, departments and agencies nationwide.
The council, comprising eight public sector unions, directed all federal, state and local government employees to comply with the strike, which is scheduled to run until Sunday, October 4, 2026. The directive was contained in a circular issued on October 1 by the JNPSNC's National Secretary, Olowoyo Gbenga, titled "Declaration of Three (3) Day Warning Strike; Action with Immediate Effect." The circular read: "Please recall the position of the National leadership of Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council that if Mr President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu refuses to address our requests as contained in the letter to his exalted office (dated 21st September, 2026), the three-day warning strike earlier scheduled shall commence immediately. Consequent upon the above, the strike shall start with effect from midnight of Friday 2nd October, 2026 to Sunday October 4th, 2026. In the same vein, all Public Servants in the services of Federal, State and Local Governments are to join the warning strike because an injury to one is an injury to all, most especially all workers, their dependants, vulnerable and hapless Nigerians."
The JNPSNC is made up of the Nigerian Civil Service Union, the Medical and Health Workers Union, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Employees, the Nigeria Union of Public Service, Reportorial, Secretarial, Data Processors and Allied Workers, the National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers, and the National Union of Agriculture and Allied Employees.
The council had written to President Bola Tinubu on September 21, 2026, demanding that the price of petrol be slashed to N500 per litre, the immediate announcement of a wage award and the beginning of negotiations for a new national minimum wage of not less than N500,000 from 2027. It gave the government until September 30, 2026, to respond, warning that failure to act would leave workers with no option but to commence the warning strike. The council also urged the President to use his Independence Day address on October 1 to address the issues raised by workers.
In his nationwide broadcast on October 1, President Tinubu did not announce a reduction in petrol prices, a wage award or the commencement of minimum wage negotiations. The JNPSNC leadership expressed disappointment that the President did not heed the demand for the pump price of petrol to be slashed to N500, from the current N1,400 to N2,000 per litre depending on location, or announce immediate measures to ameliorate the socioeconomic hardship caused by government policies.
The council identified three critical issues requiring urgent attention. First, the reduction of petrol price to N500 per litre, which it said could be achieved through the provision of an intervention fund to address landing costs and support oil and gas operators. It also called for the Federal Government to ensure the sale of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery and operators of modular refineries at appropriate terms to facilitate increased domestic refining and help bring down the price of petroleum products. "The current price of PMS, ranging from N1,450 to N2,000 and, in some locations outside major communities and cities, as high as N2,500 per litre, is unacceptable to Nigerian workers," the council said. "The economic hardship occasioned by the high cost of fuel is placing the survival of Nigerian workers, their dependants and the general populace under severe pressure, making it increasingly difficult for Nigerians to live normal and dignified lives."
Second, the council demanded the urgent approval of a wage award for Nigerian workers to cushion the effects of the prevailing harsh economic conditions. It said such action would enable public servants to consolidate their loyalty, commitment and productivity within the public service ecosystem. Third, it called for the urgent establishment of a tripartite committee to commence and facilitate negotiations for the new national minimum wage expected to become due in 2027. The council said early commencement was necessary to avoid any administrative or procedural delay that could affect the implementation of the new wage once negotiated and passed into law by the National Assembly.
The warning strike by the JNPSNC is running concurrently with a separate indefinite strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, which was scheduled to commence on October 3, 2026. The Federal Government had urged the labour centres to refrain from actions capable of undermining a subsisting court order, following a National Industrial Court ruling in June 2026 restraining the NLC and TUC from embarking on strike action. The two labour centres had resolved their differences and announced the indefinite strike in a joint press briefing, citing the prevailing hardship caused by the removal of petrol subsidy and the failure of the Federal Government to address the mass suffering and pains occasioned by the policy.
The broader context of the industrial action is the escalating cost of living in Nigeria following the removal of the petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023, which pushed petrol prices from below N200 per litre to between N1,400 and N2,000, with some locations recording prices as high as N2,500. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that food inflation stood at 19.57 per cent, while the national minimum wage of N70,000 has been eroded by rising prices. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, acknowledged in September 2026 that the N70,000 wage was inadequate to withstand the economic pressures confronting Nigerian workers, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akpabio, signalled that the benchmark would be reviewed.
The strike has effectively shut down government operations at federal, state and local levels, affecting ministries, departments and agencies across the country. The JNPSNC said the action was necessary to press home its concerns over the hardship confronting workers and vulnerable Nigerians. The council directed union officials in the federal, state and local government services to ensure total compliance with the industrial action. For Nigerian workers, the three-day warning strike represents both a protest against the erosion of their purchasing power and a warning to the government that the patience of the public service is wearing thin. For the Federal Government, the strike is a test of its ability to manage industrial relations amid an economic crisis that has pushed millions of Nigerians to the brink. As the JNPSNC put it, an injury to one is an injury to all. The coming days will determine whether the warning strike produces a change in the government's position or sets the stage for a broader confrontation between labour and the state.
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