Public Servants To Strike For Three Days Over Unresolved Demands

As the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) launches a three-day nationwide warning strike over unfulfilled demands, federal, state, and local government employees have been instructed to stop working from midnight on Friday, October 2, to Sunday, October 4, 2026.

In a circular released on Thursday, the Council stated that the strike was prompted by the federal government’s refusal to comply with demands made in a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu on September 21, 2026.

The stabilization of gas prices at N500 per liter, immediate wage awards for federal, state, and local government employees, an upward review of salaries and allowances, and the immediate formation of a committee to negotiate a new minimum wage.

The council formally submitted its demands to the presidency in a letter to President Tinubu on September 21. The council then insisted that the government’s response would determine whether or not the planned warning strike would take place.

However, the Council claimed that the industrial action was brought on by the government’s refusal to comply with its requests.

Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga, the national secretary of the council, signed the circular, which stated that the warning strike was consistent with the national leadership’s earlier stance that the action would start if the government did not comply with its demands.

The council ordered all public employees to take part in the action, citing deteriorating economic conditions and the struggles faced by employees, their dependents, and vulnerable Nigerians. As a result, it is anticipated that the development will disrupt public services across the country.

The circular reads, “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 council added, “In the same vein, 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.

“Most especially all workers, their dependants, vulnerable and hapless Nigerians are groaning terribly under the present economic hardship.

“The economic and mental hardships are becoming unbearable and frustrating. The time to act and mobilise workers for the three days warning strike is now!!!”

We hope and pray that the three-day strike remains peaceful and that constructive dialogue leads to the resolution of the public servants’ concerns. May their demands be heard and fairly addressed.