Workers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have shunned the directive by the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) to continue with its industrial action.
JUAC had in a statement signed by Comrade Abdullahi Umar Saleh, the Union’s Secretary, issued to the staff on Wednesday, directed the staff to stay at home.
The statement read: “The Joint Union Action Committee therefore directs as follows: That the strike continues as earlier declared by the JUAC. That staff are encouraged to stay at home to continuously participate in daily prayers for the success of the strike.”
However, Staff of FCTA and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) were seen doing their work and carrying out their duties on Thursday defying the directive in the process.
Visit to FCTA and FCDA offices showed that workers were at work, carrying out their duties.
Some of the workers, who spoke to our reporter under the condition of anonymity said they opted to come to work in obedience to the ruling of the court.
One of the FCTA said; “The court has said we should come to work and we have no option than to come to work. Also, this is the last week of the month of January and we are expecting salary to be paid. If we don’t come to work, how are we going to get our salary?”
The JUAC directive that the strike should continue came just a day after the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, granted an interlocutory injunction filed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Administration, compelling workers under the aegis of the union to suspend their ongoing strike.
Delivering the ruling on Tuesday, Justice E.D. Subilim held that although the matter before the court amounted to a trade dispute and had met the required legal conditions, the defendants’ right to embark on industrial action was not absolute.
The judge ruled that workers were prohibited from participating in a strike once a dispute had been referred to the National Industrial Court, adding that where such a strike was already ongoing, it must cease pending the determination of the case.
“An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted, restraining the claimants and representatives… from further embarking on any industrial action against the claimant. The order shall remain in force, pending the determination of this suit,” Justice Subilim said.
Recall that the Acting Head of the Civil Service of the FCT, Mrs. Nancy Sabanti, had issued a circular directing all Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs) to open and strictly maintain staff attendance registers to ensure compliance with the court order.
The circular, dated January 27, 2026, instructed Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments, Parastatals and Agencies to enforce immediate resumption of duties by workers, reaffirming the administration’s commitment to staff welfare in the process.
