Schools Shut Down as FCTA Workers Begins Strike Action

Workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Federal Capital Development Authority down tools following an indefinite strike called by the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) over demands for improved working conditions, in Abuja yesterday 

Workers on Monday shut the gates of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), and several other agencies as they began an indefinite strike over unresolved welfare issue.

The workers also rejected the ban on staff of the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) from using mobile phones in their offices by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

The workers, under the umbrella of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), have been appealing for urgent action to resolve welfare grievances that they say are affecting morale and productivity.

As early as 7 am, the main gates of the FCTA/FCDA Secretariat were under lock and key, preventing staff and visitors from gaining access to the complex.

Our correspondent, who monitored the situation, reports that most agencies of the administration were completely shut down.

Furthermore, many senior secondary schools in the territory directed their students to return home, while staff members were prevented from entering school premises.

Visitors to the FCT Minister’s office and the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) were also turned away by labour leaders manning the gates.

The closure followed a circular issued late Sunday night by the JUAC leadership, directing all workers to remain at home in strict compliance with the industrial action.

In the notice, titled “Code: Remain at Home,” JUAC appealed for cooperation to ensure the success of what it described as “agitations for better working conditions in the FCTA.”

The FCT JUAC President, Mrs. Rifkatu Iortyer, told journalists that the union’s concerns include the non-remittance of pension and National Housing Fund (NHF) deductions, as well as the non-payment of overheads.

Other issues raised include the unlawful restriction and centralisation of salary preparation and payment, non-payment of personnel at the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and the Social Development Secretariat (SDS) engaged in enforcement and the absence of a financial threshold for permanent secretaries and heads of Secretariats, Departments, and Agencies (SDAs).

Others are the elongation of tenure for some retired directors and permanent secretaries, unpaid wage awards, promotion arrears, and poor working conditions, as well as staff intimidation and a lack of training and retraining programmes.

Mrs. Iortyer also said workers rejected the mass failures recorded in the 2024 promotion examinations and demanded a reversal of the results.

She emphasised that these issues have been “festering for far too long,” causing undue hardship to dedicated civil servants.

She maintained that the gates would remain locked until their demands are addressed

It would be recalled that the union had previously shut the secretariat gates in June 2025 to draw the administration’s attention to the same issues. JUAC said that since then, no significant action has been taken.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said it has addressed 10 of the 14 demands presented by striking workers, adding that efforts are ongoing to resolve the remaining issues.

In a statement on Monday, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said top FCTA officials had held several meetings with labour leaders, including engagements over the weekend, to resolve the dispute.

He noted that some workers’ unions, including the Law Officers Association of Nigeria, had dissociated themselves from the strike and should be allowed access to their offices to perform their duties.

Olayinka said the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, never showed unwillingness to address workers’ concerns, stressing that dialogue was encouraged as the outstanding issues did not justify a strike.

He explained that payment of the five-month wage award had commenced, while 13 months’ hazard allowance and 22 months’ rural allowance for health workers had been fully paid.

He added that outstanding promotion arrears for 2023 and 2024, amounting to N286.1 million and affecting 724 officers across 24 SDAs, had been approved and were being processed.