Nigerian civil servants have warned the Federal Government that they will go on a big, continuous strike if their welfare demands are ignored.
Government workers across Nigeria, known as civil servants, have warned the Federal Government that they are ready to shut down public offices in a big, total, and endless strike action.
The workers said they are tired of suffering from poor welfare, very high fuel prices, heavy taxes, and the high cost of buying food and paying for transport every day.
This serious warning was made in Abuja on Monday, 5, 2026, by the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC).
The council, which brings together eight main public sector trade unions like the Nigeria Civil Service Union and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, told the government to quickly fix these problems before the workers lose their patience completely.
This warning came right after public workers finished a short warning strike to show their anger over how hard life has become in the country.
The reason the workers are planning to go on a total strike is that the cost of living in Nigeria has gone up too much. Civil servants explained that almost all the money they earn as salary goes into paying for high bus fare to get to work every day.
They are demanding that the government must quickly reduce the price of petrol to N500 per litre, cut down the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) income tax taken from their monthly salaries, and pay new wage awards to help them buy food for their families.
Speaking on the big communication gap between workers and top leaders, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, accused President Bola Tinubu’s government of refusing to talk or listen to workers’ cries.
While speaking over the weekend on a popular news program called the Mic On Podcast, Ajaero revealed that the union wrote letters to the President for many months without getting any reply.
Explaining how the government turned its back on the workers, Joe Ajaero said: “For the past two to three years, it’s not the government that is engaging. This government doesn’t engage. By December 17, 2025, we pulled out that we were going to the streets. After writing a letter from May to December to the President and receiving no response, we set a date to go to the streets.”
Ajaero noted that even when some state governors tried to step in to stop the protest, the central government still refused to fix the main issues.
Expressing his frustration over how leaders are handling the country’s matters, Ajaero added: “After that, some governors intervened, and we had an interface. So, some governors met with us, and since then, we have talked once or twice. But those issues, from December last year to now, they are just doing their business. Everybody is their enemy.”
Civil servants in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and across different states are strongly supporting the strike move.
Many workers said an average worker spends between N3,000 and N5,000 every single day just on transport fare, which means their monthly pay vanishes before the middle of the month.
The union council advised the Federal Government to use the small peaceful window available right now after the warning strike to call labor leaders to the table and solve all their welfare demands.
They warned that if the government fails to take quick steps to bring down fuel prices and lessen workers’ tax burdens, all government offices, schools, and public services across Nigeria will be locked down indefinitely.
Jennifer Baba is a journalist, international news correspondent, and writer at Moderncrux, where she covers artificial intelligence, fintech, emerging technologies, global politics, and international affairs. Based in Nigeria, she is passionate about transforming complex global developments into clear, engaging stories that inform and inspire readers.
