By Prevail Inegbenose
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has directed the six area council chairmen to enforce the “no work, no pay” policy against teachers and civil servants participating in the ongoing strike in the territory.
Wike gave the directive on Friday, October 9, 2026, during a meeting with the area council chairmen in Abuja, describing the industrial action declared by the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as unjustified and politically motivated.
Recall that the NLC FCT chapter has directed all workers in the FCT Administration, including those in the private sector, to commence an indefinite strike from Wednesday 7th 2026.
The directive followed the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, over unresolved labour disputes and policy grievances affecting teachers.
The Minister insisted that the issues raised by the labour union had already been addressed and were being implemented, questioning the rationale behind the strike.
“We want to state categorically and let it be known to the public that this so-called strike declaration is political, and we will not accept it,” the minister said.
Wike maintained that the FCT Administration had no outstanding dispute with the local government areas, local education authorities or primary schools that warranted the industrial action.
He disclosed that the promotion of teachers was ongoing, while issues concerning directors were administrative matters being handled through the appropriate establishment procedures.
The Minister also claimed that senior primary school teachers and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) had distanced themselves from the strike, insisting that the action lacked sufficient justification.
“I’ve directed the area councils to go back and call their teachers and civil servants. If anybody does this, we’ll implement ‘no work, no pay’. Enough is enough; we can’t continue with this,” he declared.
Wike further accused the FCT NLC leadership of using the strike to advance partisan interests ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He alleged that the union’s chairman had previously contested an area council election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), suggesting that the industrial action was intended to create political tension in the territory.
The Minister challenged the labour leader to separate union activities from partisan politics, arguing that the closure of schools could affect pupils and become a political issue ahead of the elections.
