Workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Monday, January 26, picketed the FCTA secretariat and the National Industrial Court in Abuja as part of a total and indefinite strike over unresolved labour disputes.
The protesters also defied and confronted armed anti-riot policemen stationed at the minister’s office main gate, demanding his removal.
The workers used the protest to demand the removal of the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Wike must go!”, “Abuja no be Rivers”, “Pay promotion arrears”, “Enough is enough”, “Pay us our pension now”, “Respect civil service rules” and “No working tools”, the protesters marched peacefully around the court premises.
Upon learning that the minister had slipped out of the office through the back gate, angry protesters pursued his convoy in an attempt to intercept him.
The workers repeatedly chanted, “Ole! Ole!! Ole!!!”
The protest followed a directive by the NLC, which declared full support for the industrial action, describing the strike as justified in the face of what it termed persistent violations of workers’ rights by the management and political leadership of the FCTA.
Several unions, including the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT chapters, joined the action in solidarity.
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