Lagos Public Servants Set for Three-Day Warning Strike Over Wages, Petrol Prices
By Sherif Salau
Public servants across Lagos and the rest of the country are set to down tools from midnight on Friday in a three-day warning strike, as unions press the Federal Government over soaring petrol prices and the rising cost of living.
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), which represents eight public-sector unions, directed federal, state and local government workers to join the industrial action from midnight on Friday, 2 October, until Sunday, 4 October 2026. The decision followed the expiration of a September 30 deadline the council had given the government to address its demands.
At the heart of the dispute are three key requests. The unions want the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit reduced to ₦500 per litre, an immediate wage award to cushion economic hardship, and the urgent constitution of a tripartite committee to begin negotiations for a new national minimum wage expected in 2027. They have proposed a floor of not less than ₦500,000 for the new wage.
In a circular signed by National Secretary Comrade Gbenga Olowoyo, the council noted that petrol currently sells for between ₦1,450 and ₦2,000 per litre in many locations, and as high as ₦2,500 in some areas outside major cities. The high cost, it said, has placed severe pressure on workers, their families and other vulnerable Nigerians, driving up the prices of food, transport and other essentials.
The unions suggested that the government could achieve a lower fuel price through an intervention fund to address landing costs and support oil and gas operators. They also called for crude oil to be supplied to the Dangote Refinery and modular refineries on favourable terms to boost domestic refining and ease prices.
The September 21 letter to President Bola Tinubu had set a clear timeline. The council had hoped the issues would be addressed in the President’s Independence Day broadcast. When that did not happen and the September 30 deadline passed without satisfactory response, the leadership activated the warning strike.
“All Public Servants in the services of Federal, State and Local Governments are to join the warning strike because an injury to one is an injury to all,” the circular stated. It urged national and state leaders of the affiliate unions to mobilise members fully.
In Lagos, the action is expected to affect ministries, departments, agencies and local government offices. Residents and businesses may experience slower processing of documents and reduced access to certain public services over the three days.
The warning strike is intended as a short, sharp signal of workers’ frustration. Whether it escalates into a more prolonged industrial action will depend on how quickly the government engages the unions on the core demands of cheaper fuel, immediate wage relief and a clear path to a new minimum wage.
