TUC Disowns NLC Strike In FCT, Directs Members To Resume Normal Duties
The Trade Union Congress (TUC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, has distanced itself from the indefinite strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the nation’s capital, directing its members to disregard the industrial action and continue their normal duties.
The TUC’s position comes days after the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), FCT chapter, also rejected the strike, describing it as premature and warning that it could disrupt academic activities and negatively affect students.
In a statement issued on Friday, the FCT TUC Secretary, Sunday Joseph, said the council was not consulted before the NLC announced the strike over unresolved labour disputes between the FCT Administration (FCTA) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
According to the statement, the TUC received a communiqué dated October 6, 2026, in which the NLC directed public and private sector workers across the FCT to commence an indefinite strike from October 7.
“The TUC FCT wishes to state clearly that the directive was issued without any consultation with the TUC FCT Council or any of its affiliates in the FCT. We took no part in the meeting that produced it, and we did not take part in the decision to call a strike. Accordingly, the TUC FCT is not a party to the said industrial action,” Joseph said.
The council maintained that labour disputes should be addressed proactively through effective strategies, particularly when they affect workers’ welfare and the education of children.
It consequently directed all its affiliate unions and members in the FCT to report to work and continue their normal duties and business activities, stressing that they should not be compelled to participate in an industrial action it had not approved.
“Members should not be intimidated or coerced into joining any action that the TUC has not sanctioned. Any such incident should be reported to the TUC FCT Secretariat without delay,” the statement added.
The council also instructed affiliate union leaders to disregard any directive to establish enforcement committees unless such instructions emanated from the FCT TUC.
It urged its members to remain calm, law-abiding and vigilant, assuring them that further guidance would be communicated should the situation change.
The NLC had declared an indefinite strike in the FCT following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, over unresolved labour demands and grievances affecting teachers.
In a communiqué issued after an emergency State Executive Council meeting, the NLC FCT Chairman, Knabayi Adalo, identified the removal of the vacancy requirement for teachers’ promotions as one of the union’s major demands.
Adalo described the requirement as a major cause of career stagnation and demoralisation among teachers, insisting that the issue needed urgent attention.
The NLC also demanded the immediate withdrawal of redeployment and demotion letters issued to directors in agencies under the FCT Education Secretariat who were beneficiaries of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
However, the FCT chapter of ASUSS had earlier directed teachers and education officers to report to work, arguing that the strike could disrupt academic activities and adversely affect students.