The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has disclosed that it has met 10 out of the 14 demands presented by workers currently on strike, adding that concrete steps are being taken to address the remaining four issues.
The administration also stated that several workers and unions, including the Law Officers Association of Nigeria, have dissociated themselves from the strike action and should be allowed unhindered access to their offices to perform their official duties.
This was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Public Communications and Social Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka.
According to the statement, top officials of the FCTA have held a series of engagements with labour leaders, including meetings held over the weekend, in a bid to resolve all outstanding issues. One of such meetings was held with leaders of the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) on Friday, January 16, during which the demands of the workers and interventions already approved by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, were clearly outlined.
Olayinka said that at no point during the discussions did the Minister show unwillingness to address any of the workers’ demands. JUAC leaders were reportedly appealed to adopt dialogue rather than industrial action, as the outstanding issues were not severe enough to warrant a strike.
He noted that payment of the five months outstanding wage award, one of the key demands, has already commenced. In addition, the administration has fully paid the outstanding 13 months’ hazard allowance and 22 months’ rural allowance owed to health workers.
The statement further revealed that the Minister recently received a letter from the Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Capital Territory (ARD-FCTA), in which the doctors commended him for his “exemplary leadership and commitment to the welfare of healthcare workers,” particularly for approving the payment of longstanding hazard allowance arrears and one month wage award.
On promotion arrears, the FCTA explained that outstanding arrears amounting to N286,166,772.46, covering 724 officers across 24 Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs), were approved by the Minister in December 2025 and are currently being processed for payment.
Addressing concerns over the alleged elongation of tenure of retired Directors and Permanent Secretaries, the administration said the issue has been resolved, with assurances from the Minister that strict compliance with the Public Service Rules will be maintained.
On training and retraining of staff, all SDAs have been directed to submit both general and specialized training needs to the Permanent Secretary, Common Services, for onward transmission to the Office of the Head of Service for necessary action.
The FCTA also clarified that the issue of non-remittance of National Housing Fund (NHF) deductions and pension contributions since May 2025 is a responsibility involving workers themselves. Consequently, the Head of Service has constituted a committee made up of workers to comprehensively address all matters relating to deductions and remittances.
Regarding claims of a defective promotion examination process and an alleged pass rate of 22.5 per cent, the administration stated that the figures presented by JUAC had no official backing, advising the unions to await the formal release of results as directed by the Minister.
The issue of overstay of overseeing directors, according to the statement, has been largely addressed through the conduct of the 2023 promotion exercise for eligible deputy directors, while the release of the 2024 promotion results by the FCT Civil Service Commission is expected to conclusively resolve the matter.
“In all, it is clear that the FCT Minister has made concerted efforts to address the demands of the workers and will continue to accord their welfare top priority,” the statement said.
The FCTA therefore described the ongoing strike by JUAC as “unnecessary, ill-motivated and aimed at achieving purposes other than the welfare of workers.”
The administration also called on security agencies to ensure that workers who have chosen not to participate in the strike are granted unhindered access to their offices to carry out their lawful duties.
