Public service workers under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) have declared a three-day nationwide warning strike over worsening economic conditions and the failure of the Federal Government to address key demands concerning workers’ welfare and the rising cost of living.
The industrial action is scheduled to commence at midnight on Friday, October 2, and end on Sunday, October 4, 2026.
The directive was contained in a circular dated October 1 and signed by the National Secretary of the JNPSNC, Olowoyo Gbenga. The council directed its national and state leadership to mobilise workers for the action.
The council said the decision followed the Federal Government’s failure to respond to demands it had submitted to President Bola Tinubu in a letter dated September 21, after giving the government until September 30 to take action.
Among the workers’ key demands is a reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, to ₦500 per litre. They are also demanding an immediate wage award to cushion the impact of rising living costs and the urgent commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage.
The council had earlier warned that failure by the government to address the issues by the September 30 deadline would trigger the three-day warning strike.
In its latest directive, the JNPSNC called on public servants across the federal, state and local government services to participate in the industrial action. The council said prevailing economic conditions were placing increasing pressure on workers, their dependants and other vulnerable Nigerians.
The demand for a new minimum wage is also linked to the council’s call for the urgent establishment of a tripartite committee to begin negotiations ahead of a new wage regime expected to take effect in 2027.
The JNPSNC comprises several public-sector unions, including the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Medical and Health Workers Union, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, among others.
With the warning strike formally declared, public services at the federal, state and local government levels could be affected from Friday if there is no subsequent agreement or directive altering the position.
The three-day action is being presented by the council as a warning strike aimed at pressing the government to respond to the workers’ demands, rather than an indefinite industrial a
