The ongoing strike by workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) took a dramatic turn on Monday as the National Industrial Court in Abuja fixed Tuesday, January 27, to rule on an application seeking to restrain the workers from continuing their industrial action, even as protesting staff chased the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, out of the FCTA Secretariat.
The strike, which entered another tense phase, was triggered by unresolved welfare issues, including five months of unpaid salaries, long-outstanding promotion arrears and poor working conditions. The action, declared total and indefinite, has been backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
At the National Industrial Court, Justice Emmanuel Subilim adjourned proceedings after hearing arguments from counsel representing both parties in a suit filed by the FCT Minister and the FCTA, seeking an order compelling the striking workers to return to duty. The President and Secretary of the Joint Union Action Congress (JUAC), Rifkatu Iortyer and Abdullahi Saleh, were named as defendants.
Counsel to the defendants, Maxwell Okpara, urged the court to join the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as respondents, arguing that their inclusion would ensure that any court order would be binding on them. However, counsel to the FCT Minister, James Onoja, SAN, opposed the application, maintaining that the suit was properly constituted against the named defendants, who he noted were not registered under the Trade Union Act.
Ruling on the joinder application, Justice Subilim held that the court could not compel the claimants to add parties they did not choose to sue, and subsequently adjourned the matter until January 27 for ruling on the application for a restraining order.
Meanwhile, tension flared at the FCTA Secretariat in Abuja as protesting workers picketed the premises and confronted armed anti-riot policemen deployed to the Minister’s office. The situation escalated when workers learned that Minister Wike had allegedly entered the Secretariat earlier in the day and later exited through the back gate.
Angered by the development, the protesters pursued the Minister’s convoy, chanting “Ole! Ole!! Ole!!!” A 23-minute video circulating online showed workers running after the convoy in an attempt to intercept it, though the Minister eventually escaped.
The protesters, acting on the directive of the NLC, also extended their picketing to the National Industrial Court complex, insisting on the removal of the FCT Minister and a resolution of their welfare demands.
As the strike continues to disrupt essential services in the nation’s capital, all eyes are now on the National Industrial Court, which is expected to determine on January 27 whether the industrial action will be restrained or allowed to continue.
