Hardship: Public sector unions warning strike begin on shaky note
By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief, Dayo Johnson, Omeza Ajayi, Adesina Wahab, Victor Ahiuma-Young, Adeola Badru & Favour UleborFavour Ulebor & Chidinma Chukwu
The three-day warning strike declared by public sector unions under the aegis of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, yesterday commenced on a shaky note, recording varying degrees of compliance by civil servants across the country.
This came as teaching and non-teaching staff in all Lagos State government-owned universities have threatened an indefinite strike from midnight Friday over unmet demands and breach of agreements.
The JNPSNC called for the warning strike to protest the government’s refusal to reduce the pump price of petrol to N500 a litre from between N1,400 and N2,000, depending on the location.
They also demanded, among other things, a wage award and other measures to cushion the negative effects of government reform policies on workers and other Nigerians.
The council had also, on September 29, threatened a three-day warning strike should its demands for the petrol price to be cut to N500 a litre, a wage award and other measures to cushion the hardship in the country not be met or addressed by President Tinubu during his Independence Anniversary Address to the nation on October 1.
At the Federal Secretariat, it was observed that many offices within the secretariat were open, although a lot of persons were not at their duty posts, even though they had shown up for work.
While a few states recorded total compliance and some partial compliance, other states recorded zero compliance.
Among the states that recorded tangible compliance were Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ogun, while Gombe and some other states in the North recorded partial compliance.
FG workers ignore strike directive, report for work
Federal government workers, yesterday, ignored the warning strike directive by their leaders, as they reported for their normal duties.
JNPSNC had declared a three-day warning strike over what it described as economic and mental hardship affecting its members.
Our reporters who visited several ministries and offices at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja reported that, despite the strike declared by the public sector union on Thursday, workers were at work.
One of our reporters, who visited the Federal Secretariat, observed that several ministries and offices were open, although the number of workers present was low.
No protest was also held at the secretariat as at the time of the visit.
Reactions from workers at the secretariat indicated that the strike did not disrupt activities in the offices, as anticipated.
A staff member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke with our reporter, on condition of anonymity, said there was no strike at the ministry.
He said he was unaware of any strike affecting activities at the ministry.
Another reporter who visited the Ministry of Health and Social Development observed that the office was open, with staff carrying out their official duties.
One of the ministry’s staff said there was no indication of the strike at the office.
“We are here at the office. We came to work. People may not be much at the office today because it is Friday, but there is no sign of strike here,” the staff member said.
A staff member of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) also said the situation was normal, attributing the low presence of workers in the office to the usual Friday work pattern.
“As usual for civil servants, most of them don’t come to the office on Friday, as workers most times stop coming to work from Thursday. The situation is the same today (Friday). Today is just like a normal Friday in our office in Abuja,” the staff member said.
Another staff at the secretariat said the strike was not being seriously observed in many offices, noting that several workers reported for duty, although many others were absent.
The low turnout of workers in most offices was attributed to the Public Holiday declared on Thursday to commemorate the nation’s 66th Independence Day Anniversary and to the fact that yesterday was Friday.
Another reporter who visited the Federl Ministry of Information and National Orientation observed that the staff present at their offices and carried out their normal duties.
A staff member of the Ministry, who asked not to be named, said he and his colleagues were at work as usual.
“As you can see, I am in the office. Other colleagues are here working,” he said.
The story was the same at the Federal Ministry of Finance, as staff members said they were at their desks for their normal duties.
Similarly, workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA and the Ministry of Interior were at their desks yesterday.
In both places, many of the workers were still on duty well past the usual 4pm closing time.
At the FCTA, workers reported for work as usual. Their union, the Joint Union Action Congress JUAC did not participate in the warming strike. The situation at the Ministry of Interior was the same.
The circular, titled “Declaration of three day Warning Strike; action with immediate effect,” said the action would run from Friday, October 2, to Sunday, October 4, 2026.
It insisted that all public servants join, “because an injury to one is an injury to all.”
The council said the strike followed the failure of the Federal Government to address demands in a September 21, 2026, letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The demands included a cut in the pump price of petrol to N500 per litre, an immediate wage award and the start of negotiations for a new national minimum wage due in 2027.
Lagos and Ekiti led the states with zero compliance.
In Ondo, checks by Vanguard in Akure, the state capital, showed that most offices at the Federal Secretariat were closed, although a few workers were seen within the premises.
When interviewed, the workers said they had only come to attend to personal matters and were not carrying out official duties.
A similar situation was observed at the Ondo State Civil Service Commission, where most offices were also closed.
A few workers were present but said they had come to attend to personal matters and declined to attend to people seeking official services.
However, some state ministries were open, with workers seen at the Ministries of Culture and Tourism, Information and Orientation, and Agriculture, among others.
Speaking on the level of compliance, the Chairman of the Ondo State Joint Negotiating Council, JNC, Oluwasegun Ajiboye, said the state recorded 50 per cent compliance.
Ajiboye, who also doubles as the state chairman of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, said: “I can say there is 50 per cent compliance. We have a committee that is going around to monitor compliance with the strike, and the report reaching us is that there is 50 per cent compliance.”
Speaking on the low level of compliance, an official of one of the states that recorded zero compliance blamed inadequate mobilisation for the non-compliance.
He also queried the timing, saying: “besides essential services, most civil servants do not go to work weekend. There should have been not less than three days of mobilization and sensitization between Friday and Tuesday. After which, the warning strike could commence on Wednesday and end on Friday.
“As it is, we have to go back to the drawing board and prepare for a proper strike. We can wish away the hardship, pain and suffering that government policies especially the high cost of fuel, have inflicted upon us all.”
However, speaking to Saturday Vanguard, JNPSNC’s National Secretary (Trade Union side), Olowoyo Gbenga, said the compliance level across states was above 65 per cent.
According to him, “there was total compliance in Akwa Ibom, Kaduna about 80 percent, while Kogi, Gombe, and some other states in North that I cannot readily give you their names, recorded over 65 percent compliance.
“However, we expect greater level of compliance between Saturday and Sunday where essential services will affected.”
The JNPSNC comprises the Nigerian Civil Service Union (NCSU); Medical and Health Workers Union (M&HWU); Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN); and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).
Others are the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Employees (AUPCTRE); Nigeria Union of Public Service, Reportorial, Secretarial, Data Processors and Allied Workers (NUPSRAW); National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers (NUPPPPROW); and National Union of Agriculture and Allied Employees (NUAEE).
The warning strike followed the failure of the Federal Government to address demands contained in a letter dated September 21, 2026, to President Bola Tinubu by the national leadership of the JNPSNC.
The council explained that the action was necessary to press home its concerns over the hardship confronting workers and vulnerable Nigerians.
The JNPSNC leadership is disappointed that President Tinubu, in his Independence Anniversary Address, 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 the location, or announce immediate measures to ameliorate the socioeconomic hardship caused by government policies.
The directive to proceed on the warning strike is contained in a circular by JNPSNC’s National Secretary (Trade Union side), Olowoyo Gbenga, dated October 1, 2026, to the national presidents and general secretaries, state chairmen and secretaries of affiliate unions to the JNPSNC, titled “Declaration of three (3) day Warning Strike; action with immediate effect”.
Lagos varsities shut
Meanwhile, the teaching and non-teaching staff in all Lagos State government-owned universities are poised to embark on an indefinite strike from midnight Friday over unmet demands and unfulfilled promises and agreements
The workers, acting under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee, JAC, of Workers of Lagos State-owned Universities, made their decision known yesterday while briefing the press.
The workers are members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU; Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU; National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT; and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions, NASU.
The universities involved are Lagos State University, LASU; Lagos State University of Education, LASUED; Lagos State University of Science and Technology, LASUSTECH; and Lagos State University College of Medicine, LASUCOM.
Vanguard News
The post Hardship: Public sector unions warning strike begin on shaky note appeared first on Vanguard News.