Abuja Labour Strike Politically Motivated, Wike Insists

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has described the ongoing strike by the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) as political and without basis.

Speaking on Friday after a meeting with chairmen of the six area councils in Abuja, Wike directed the council chairmen to enforce a strict “no-work, no-pay” policy against any worker who joins the industrial action.

“We have directed the chairmen of the area councils to call their teachers and state clearly: if anybody participates in this, we will implement no-work, no-pay. Enough is enough; we cannot continue with this,” he said.

Wike rejected the reasons given for the strike, stating that all legitimate demands raised by teachers, including promotions and related operational matters, had either been resolved or were already being implemented.

“We want to state categorically and let it be known to the public: this so-called strike declaration is political, and we will not accept it. There is no basis for anybody to call for a strike. We don’t have any issue with the Local Education Authorities or primary schools. Everything we have agreed on, we are implementing,” he declared.

He noted that secondary school teachers and other key union segments had distanced themselves from the action after recognising that their demands were being met.

Wike further questioned the neutrality of the local NLC leadership, alleging that the FCT NLC chairman was a former candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the February area council elections.

“You can see his interest. He is trying to ensure the FCT is in crisis as a political tool, telling voters that pupils are at home. We will not accept that blackmail. If you want to involve yourself in politics, you are free to do so, but excuse yourself from holding union leadership so you don’t politicise it,” he advised.

The NLC had on Wednesday directed FCT Administration workers and those in the private sector to commence an indefinite strike over unresolved issues with the NUT.

The demands include the withdrawal of the redeployment of some directors under the FCT Education Secretariat, the rescheduling of the 2025 promotion examination, and the removal of the vacancy precondition for promotion.