Public Servants Keep Oct. 2 Strike Threat as Budget Office Acknowledges Demands
Nigeria’s public servants are maintaining the threat of a three-day nationwide warning strike from Friday, October 2, after the Budget Office of the Federation acknowledged their demands but announced no agreement resolving the dispute.
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council had given the Federal Government until September 30 to act on demands covering petrol prices, wage relief and preparations for a new national minimum wage.
Workers had warned that failure to address those issues would trigger a three-day warning strike from October 2.
The Budget Office has now acknowledged the council’s letter.
A September 30 report quoting a response dated September 29 said the office recognised workers’ concerns over the rising cost of living, purchasing power and family welfare.
It also said it was awaiting further directives from higher authorities.
The response did not announce acceptance of the workers’ demands or say the threatened strike had been suspended.
Workers’ Three Main Demands
The JNPSNC is pressing the government on three central issues.
It wants the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit reduced to ₦500 per litre.
It is also demanding an immediate wage award to cushion economic pressure on workers.
The council further wants the Federal Government to establish a tripartite committee to begin negotiations for a new national minimum wage expected in 2027.
Those remain labour demands.
They are not agreed government policy.
Budget Office Acknowledges Cost-of-Living Concerns
The Budget Office response marks a change from the earlier position in which workers complained that no visible government action had followed their September 21 letter.
According to the reported response, the office acknowledged the effect of living costs on workers’ purchasing power and said it appreciated the council’s commitment to dialogue and industrial harmony.
But it stopped short of announcing any new wage award, salary adjustment or petrol-price intervention.
It also did not confirm that negotiations had produced an agreement capable of ending the strike threat.
That leaves the dispute unresolved.
Strike Threat Remains Conditional
The JNPSNC has said public servants will begin a three-day warning strike on October 2 if the government does not adequately address the issues it raised.
That means the industrial action remains threatened rather than active.
It also means the next government intervention could still change the position before Friday.
The council had said President Bola Tinubu’s October 1 Independence Day address should address the concerns raised by workers.
That speech now becomes the next major test point in the dispute.
What Happens Next
The government has acknowledged the workers’ demands.
It has not yet announced a settlement.
The JNPSNC has threatened industrial action.
It has not yet begun the strike.
The next development will determine whether the October 2 warning strike proceeds, is suspended or is overtaken by an agreement.
For Nigerians who depend on affected public services, that distinction matters.
The question is no longer whether government has heard the workers.
It is whether the response moves from acknowledgement to an agreement before the strike deadline.
