By Taibat Ummi Yakubu

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has threatened salary sanctions against workers participating in the ongoing strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), accusing the union leadership of using the dispute to pursue political interests.

Wike issued the warning on Friday after meeting with chairmen of the six area councils in Abuja, directing them to enforce a strict “no-work, no-pay” policy against workers who join the industrial action.

The minister also instructed the council chairmen to take action against unauthorised absenteeism, insisting that the government would no longer tolerate what he described as an unjustified shutdown of essential educational services.

“We have directed the chairmen of the area councils to call their teachers and state clearly: if anybody participates in this, we will implement no-work, no-pay,” Wike said, adding that the government had reached its limit over the matter.

He dismissed the strike as politically motivated, arguing that the concerns raised by teachers had either been addressed or were already being handled by the relevant authorities. According to him, there was no sufficient justification for the disruption of activities in primary schools and Local Education Authorities.

The FCT minister maintained that agreements reached with the teachers were being implemented, questioning why the union had proceeded with industrial action despite what he described as progress in resolving the outstanding issues.

Wike also claimed that some sections of the teaching workforce, including secondary school teachers, had distanced themselves from the strike, suggesting that the action did not enjoy the support of all those affected by the dispute.

Taking his criticism further, the minister questioned the political neutrality of the FCT NLC leadership, alleging that the union’s chairperson had contested an area council election in February on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

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He accused the labour leadership of attempting to turn the disruption of school activities into a political issue, with pupils staying at home potentially being used to portray the FCT Administration negatively.

“If you want to involve yourself in politics, you are free to do so, but excuse yourself from holding union leadership so you don’t politicise it,” Wike said.

The NLC, however, had directed workers under the FCT Administration, as well as those in the private sector, to begin an indefinite strike on Wednesday over unresolved disagreements between the administration and the teachers’ union.

At the centre of the dispute are demands by the NUT for the withdrawal of the redeployment of some directors working under agencies of the FCT Education Secretariat, the rescheduling of the 2025 promotion examination and the removal of the requirement for available vacancies before teachers can be promoted.

The dispute has now placed the FCT Administration and organised labour on opposing sides, with the government insisting that the demands are being addressed while the union’s strike directive threatens to prolong the disruption of public services.

Whether the government’s threat of salary deductions will force workers back to their posts or deepen the standoff remains to be seen, as the dispute raises fresh questions about labour relations, teachers’ welfare and the impact of industrial action on pupils’ education.