Immediate and full implementation of the new national minimum wage for all FCT Area Council workers

By Daniel Akande

The Solidarity Network for Workers’ Rights (SNWR) fully identifies with the ongoing indefinite strike action by workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), united under the platforms of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM). This strike, which began on March 24, 2025, is both justifiable and necessary. It is a clear indication of the end of patience and the utter neglect of the well-being and welfare of the working people—who produce the wealth of society—and the capitalist ruling elites, who thrive on exploitation, looting, and impunity.

We stand in full solidarity with these workers—primary school teachers, health workers, and other local council staff—whose basic demands for the implementation of the new national minimum wage and the payment of outstanding arrears have been treated with utter disdain by the Area Council administrations and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. It is also worth emphasizing that even the so-called new minimum wage is already inadequate. The harsh economic realities have quickly eroded any value the ₦70,000 minimum wage may have offered.

Therefore, while supporting its full implementation and the payment of all outstanding arrears, we also call on the trade union movement to go further and demand a new minimum wage of ₦1,000,000 in line with inflation, the cost of living, and the real value of workers’ labour. The APC regime cannot be trusted—every seeming concession, including the ₦70,000 wage, is often given with one hand and taken away with the other. It’s time for a national campaign for a living wage.

THE STRIKE IS A CLASS STRUGGLE, NOT A PLEA FOR PITY

The capitalist ruling class—represented in the FCT by Minister Wike and the Area Council Chairpersons—continues to enforce a system where workers are expected to labour without wages, while political elites live in obscene luxury. What’s happening in the FCT is not a budgetary accident—it is a deliberate class policy aimed at impoverishing workers while enriching corrupt elites.

The refusal to pay the minimum wage is more than just a legal violation—it is a brutal assault on the dignity of labour. It is capitalism in full display: prioritising profit over people and exploitation over justice.

The ₦39 billion recently approved by the FCT Minister to renovate the International Conference Centre—renamed after President Tinubu—is a slap in the face of striking workers and a glaring monument to elite wastefulness. It proves that resources do exist to meet the needs of workers, but the political elites consciously choose to neglect them. While health centres are shut down, schools abandoned, and council offices locked due to the strike, the government’s focus is on preparing for elections, awarding juicy contracts to cronies, attending lavish events, and demolishing poor people’s homes across the FCT.

NO TO CAPITALIST WICKEDNESS, YES TO WORKERS’ POWER!

The SNWR salutes the courage and unity of striking workers. Your action is a powerful expression of working-class resistance against capitalist greed and government neglect. We support the planned 3-day mass protest and urge that it become a rallying point for broader mass mobilisation.

This strike must not remain localised. It must escalate into a national campaign. We call on the national leadership of the NUT, NULGE, NANNM, and the NLC to take this up as a national emergency. The Tinubu administration must be held responsible for its silence and inaction.

The working class must take its destiny into its own hands. It is time to stop relying on capitalist politicians who only represent elite interests. Workers and the poor must organise independently, build mass movements, and ultimately challenge for political power. The working class must base its struggle on the ideas of scientific socialism—the democratic control and nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy in the interest of the majority.

WE DEMAND:

• Immediate and full implementation of the ₦70,000 national minimum wage for all FCT Area Council workers
• Immediate payment of all salary arrears and allowances
• An end to looting and wasteful spending by Area Council administrations and the FCT Ministry
• Public disclosure of all FAAC allocations and IGR revenues received by Area Councils
• Full democratic control of local resources by elected representatives of workers and communities
• A nationwide action by NLC and all trade unions in solidarity with FCT workers

A WAY FORWARD: PROVIDING A SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE TO CAPITALISM

This crisis is a product of a bankrupt system. Whether APC or PDP, government after government has subjected workers to misery—delayed wages, school closures, collapsed healthcare, and mass unemployment. The ruling elite, meanwhile, continues to loot with impunity.

This must stop. The only real solution lies in building a socialist society—one where the economy is democratically planned and managed by workers to meet human needs, not profit. Only then can we guarantee free education, quality healthcare, and a living wage for all.

This strike is not just about wages—it is about the survival of the working class. The bosses and their political lackeys have declared class war. We must fight back.

An injury to one is an injury to all.

Solidarity forever!