Daud Olatunji
Public servants across the federal, state and local government levels are set to withdraw their services nationwide for three days from Friday, October 2, following the declaration of a warning strike by the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council.
The industrial action, scheduled to begin at midnight on Friday and end on Sunday, October 4, is coming amid growing concerns over the rising cost of living and what the council described as worsening economic hardship confronting workers and their dependants.
The council announced the strike in a circular issued on Thursday and signed by its National Secretary, Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga.
According to the council, the decision followed the Federal Government’s failure to respond satisfactorily to demands formally presented to President Bola Tinubu in a letter dated September 21, 2026.
Among the key demands are the stabilisation of petrol prices at ₦500 per litre, immediate payment of wage awards to workers at the federal, state and local government levels, upward review of salaries and allowances, and the constitution of a committee to negotiate a new national minimum wage ahead of January 2027.
The council said it had earlier notified the Presidency of the demands and made the government’s response a condition for deciding whether to proceed with the warning strike.
However, it said the absence of a response addressing its demands had compelled it to activate the industrial action.
The council directed all public servants across the three tiers of government to participate in the strike.
It said, “The three-day warning strike earlier scheduled shall commence immediately.
“Consequent upon the above, the strike shall start with effect from midnight of Friday, 2nd October, 2026 to Sunday, October 4th, 2026.”
The labour body urged workers to mobilise for the action, citing the economic pressure on public servants, their families and other vulnerable Nigerians.
It said, “All public servants in the services of federal, state and local governments are to join the warning strike because an injury to one is an injury to all.”
The council further said workers and vulnerable Nigerians were “groaning terribly under the present economic hardship,” adding that the economic and mental pressures had become increasingly difficult to bear.
The planned action is expected to affect government operations and public services across the country during the three-day period.
The council’s demand for a new minimum wage negotiation also comes months before January 2027, when it wants a committee constituted to begin discussions on a fresh national wage framework.
The warning strike therefore places renewed pressure on the Federal Government to engage the organised public service negotiating body on fuel pricing, workers’ welfare and the broader cost-of-living crisis.
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