By Abudullahi Mohammed and Godwin Kumai

The workers’ strike in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) represents far more than a routine industrial dispute; it is a sharp expression of the deepening crisis of governance, inequality, and class exploitation in Nigeria. At its core, the struggle pits workers fighting for survival, dignity, and basic rights against a state machinery that has consistently demonstrated indifference to their conditions.

Workers across the FCT, mobilised under the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), with the backing of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), have grounded key government operations in Abuja. Their demands are straightforward and legitimate: payment of salary arrears, implementation of the N70,000 national minimum wage, settlement of promotion arrears, improved working conditions, and the remittance of pension and National Housing Fund deductions that have reportedly remained unpaid since mid-2025.

Yet, what should have been administrative obligations have instead become sites of confrontation. Workers describe their condition as one of systemic exploitation, where the state extracts labour without fulfilling its responsibilities. The suspension of the Professional Allowance Table (PAT), previously negotiated after earlier strikes, has further deepened mistrust—particularly among health workers who have now resumed indefinite industrial action, citing betrayal of agreements.

The response of the FCT Administration (FCTA) under Minister Nyesom Wike has largely followed a pattern seen across Nigeria: denial, delay, and coercion. While the administration claims that most of the workers’ demands have been met, unions insist that no concrete or binding agreement exists on the core issues. Instead of meaningful engagement, authorities have increasingly relied on legal instruments, including National Industrial Court injunctions, to compel workers back to work.

This resort to court orders to suppress industrial action exposes a troubling reality—the shrinking democratic space for workers to assert their rights. When peaceful strikes are criminalised and union activities monitored, the question arises: whose interests does the state truly serve?

The contradictions of the system are further laid bare when juxtaposed with state spending priorities. While workers are told that “budgetary constraints” make it impossible to pay wages and entitlements, the same government continues to commit billions to so-called large-scale infrastructure projects, many of which serve as avenues for contract inflation and political patronage, rather than addressing the immediate needs of the working masses. They used it to create the illusion of performance.  Unfortunately, the recent damage to the newly constructed Kugbo Bus Terminal—part of a multi-billion naira project—has intensified scrutiny over public spending, procurement processes, and accountability.

For many workers, this is not merely a case of mismanagement but evidence of a system that prioritises profit, contracts, and elite networks over human welfare. The implications are severe. Hospitals are under strain as doctors withdraw services. Government offices remain shut, paralysing essential administrative functions. Ordinary residents bear the brunt, navigating a city where public services are collapsing under the weight of unresolved labour disputes.

For us in the Movement for a Socialist Alternative, the FCT strike underscores a fundamental truth: under a system driven by profit and elite interests, the needs of the majority of workers are consistently subordinated. The recurring cycle of strikes, broken agreements, and repression is not accidental; it is a product of a political economy that concentrates wealth and power in the hands of a few while leaving the majority in penury and precarity.

The way forward cannot lie in temporary concessions or court-imposed silences. What is required is a radical reorientation of priorities, one that places workers at the centre of governance. This means democratic control over public resources, transparency in budgeting, and the full involvement of workers’ representatives in decision-making processes affecting their lives.

Moreover, the labour movement must deepen its struggle beyond immediate demands, linking workplace issues to the broader fight against inequality, corruption, and neoliberal policies. The unity shown by unions in the FCT is a positive step, but it must evolve into a sustained, organised challenge to the structures that perpetuate exploitation.

Ultimately, the FCT strike is a warning signal. It reveals a society where the basic social contract is breaking down. If the demands of workers continue to be ignored, the crisis will only deepen. But it also offers a glimpse of possibility—the power of collective action and the potential for a different kind of society, one built not on exploitation, but on justice, equality, and democratic control of resources.