Nigerian public servants threaten October warning strike over fuel and wages

Public servants under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council have threatened a three-day warning strike from October 2 if the Federal Government does not address their demands, according to Punch Nigeria. The council is seeking a reduction in the price of petrol to N500 per litre, payment of a wage award and negotiations for a new minimum wage expected in 2027. The source material does not provide details of the government’s response to the demands.

The threat comes amid wider economic and administrative developments reported in Nigeria. In Abia, Governor Alex Otti urged Igbo traders to move beyond conventional trading and invest in manufacturing and digital commerce as competition from Chinese traders grows. A Lagos teenager detained since 2022 in a case involving slippers was also freed and acquitted after Citizens Gavel took up the case.

The organisation said the prosecution failed to produce a witness, and the court upheld a No Case Submission before discharging and acquitting the teenager and another defendant. Bello El-Rufai thanked Peter Obi for repeatedly checking on his father, Nasir, while the former Kaduna governor was in ICPC custody. Bello said Obi’s calls had been a lesson to him, having previously criticised the former Anambra governor.

In another business development, Aliko Dangote said his group was prepared to face legal challenges over a planned 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Kenya. A Kenyan court has ordered that the status quo over the land be maintained until an October 14 hearing. The Senate and House of Representatives have approved extending implementation of the capital component of the 2025 budget from September 30 to December 31, 2026.

The extension still requires President Bola Tinubu’s assent.