Nigerian Masses Demand Sustainable Achievable Strikes As JNPSNC Begins Warning Strike

As the public sector workers under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) have officially commenced a three-day nationwide warning strike today, Friday, October 2, 2026, Nigerian masses have called for sustainable and results-oriented actions.

In a chat with LEADERSHIP, Mrs Aisha Karim said, we often hear of protests or strikes whereas we don’t always see any tangible achieveable results from such actions. Strikes or protests should be avenue to achieve expected demands unlike what we have been seeing in recent years. We hear or see protesters but we hardly see the outcome of such actions. They just make noises and end the noises so soon without achieving any results.”

Another respondent, Mr Jimoh Alfa said, “Declaration of strikes or protests should go beyond noises, we want the reasons for such protests or strikes to be visibly achieved at the end of the day. Look now, they said three days warning strike. Is that what will bring change of stories for the masses? They should use protests or strikes to hold government accountable for dividends of good governance. Things are becoming tougher on daily basis, what we expect from such strike is to make government come out with solutions-driven promises or implementation of existing policies that can add positive values to lives of average Nigerians, be they civil servants or whatever areas they find themselves.”

Independent bodies which are not under Nigeria Labour Congress or Trade Union Congress, Nigerian Civil Service Union (NCSU), Medical and Health Workers Union (M&HWU), Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), under the aegis Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) declared a 3-day warning strike which started at midnight of October 2 to Sunday October 4.

Their demands include that the federal government slash the pump price of petrol to ₦500 per litre. They are also demanding the introduction of a new wage award and the immediate establishment of a tripartite committee to negotiate a new national minimum wage of at least ₦500,000 slated for 2027.

The JNPSNC initially issued an ultimatum following a letter sent to President Bola Tinubu on September 21. Because the President’s Independence Day address on October 1 failed to address their immediate economic concerns, the Council directed its leadership to fully mobilize and shut down government operations.