Strike: FCTA met 10 out of 14 demands of workers – Wike’s aide

• Says action unnecessary, ill-motivated

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has disclosed that 10 out the 14 demands of the workers that are on strike have been met, noting that other remaining four demands are being looked into with a view to addressing them.

This was in the wake of the JUAC’s indefinite strike action over demands for improved working conditions,  resulting in crippling  activities at the FCTA and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) early Monday morning.

Peoplesdaily recalls that early as 8:00 a.m., the main gates of the FCTA/FCDA Secretariat were under lock and key, preventing staff and visitors from gaining access to the complex.The closure followed a circular issued late Sunday night by the leadership of JUAC, directing all workers to remain at home in strict compliance with the industrial action.

However, the FCTA also revealed that there are workers under various unions such as the Law Officers Association of Nigeria that have dissociated themselves from the strike action, and these workers deserve the rights to be allowed access to their offices to perform their duties.

It also noted that the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), in FCT Administration even wrote to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike,  appreciating him for “his exemplary leadership and commitment to the welfare of healthcare workers, as demonstrated by the payment of the longstanding 13 months hazard allowance arrears as well as the payment of one month wage award.”

Making this known yesterday, Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media,  Lere Olayinka, in a statement, said top officials of the FCTA have held several meetings with union leaders, including on Saturday and Sunday.

According to him, in one of the meetings held with Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) leaders on Friday,  January 16, the demands as well as the interventions of the FCT Minister were laid bare, and at no point did the the Minister expressed unwillingness to address any of the demands.

“Appeal was made to JUAC officials that other pending issues were not severe enough to warrant the declaration of strike action, and that dialogue should be adopted in resolving all other issues affecting staff welfare in the FCTA.

“For instance, one of the demands made was non-payment of outstanding five months Wage Award, payment of which has commenced.

“Also, the outstanding 13 months Hazard Allowance and 22 months Rural Allowance for Health Workers have been fully paid by the administration.

“The workers also listed non-payment of 2023 promotion arrears and outstanding 2024 promotion arrears as part of their demands. Meanwhile, the outstanding arrears in the sum of N286,166,772.46, covering 724 Officers across 24 SDAs was approved by the Minister in December 2025 and being processed for payment to the beneficiaries.

“On elongation of tenure of retired Directors and Permanent Secretaries in violation of the Public Service Rules, this has been ressolved with Minister assuring the workers of strict compliance with the Public Service Rules.

“JUAC also raised issue of lack of training and retraining of staff and on this, on this, all SDAs have been directed to forward general and specialized training needs to the permanent Secretary, Common Services for onward submission to the office of the Head of Service for further necessary action.

“Another issue is non-remittance of National Housing Funds (NHF) deductions and Pension Contributions since May, 2025, which is the function of workers themselves and has nothing to do with the Minister or the FCTA management.

“ The Head of Service has therefore constituted a Committee comprising of the workers to holistically address all issues relating to all deductions and remittances.

“ On claim of defective promotion examination process with a pass rate of about 22.5 percent, it was pointed out that the figures and percentage presented by JUAC had no official backing and they were therefore advised to await the formal release of the results of the promotion examinations as directed by the Minister.

“ Also, the issue of overstay of Overseeing Directors has been reasonably addressed by the conduct of the 2023 promotion for eligible Deputy Directors while the release of the just concluded 2024 staff promotion by the FCT Civil Service Commission will conclusively address the matter”, the statement read in parts.

It continues: “In all, it can be seen that the FCT Minister has made concerted efforts to address the demands of the workers and he will continue to accord them top priority.

“ From all indications therefore, and considering all the efforts already made by the Minister in acceding to almost all the demands as well as explanations by the FCTA management staff in the meetings held, the strike action embarked on by JUAC is unnecessary, ill-motivated, and obviously aimed at achieving purposes other than welfare of the workers.

“ The FCTA also call on security agencies to ensure that workers who have opted not to be part of the strike have access to their offices so as to carry out their lawful duties unhindered”.

Meanwhile, in the strike notice titled “Code Remain at Home”, JUAC appealed to all staff to cooperate with the union to ensure the success of what it described as “agitations for better working conditions in FCTA.”

It warned workers not to report for duty, noting that a JUAC task force had been deployed to enforce total compliance.