Labour unions have instructed their members and affiliates employed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to resume duties with immediate effect.
The directive appeared in a joint circular issued on Tuesday by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) after a lengthy conciliatory meeting with the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
In the circular, signed by TUC Secretary General N. A. Toro and NLC Acting General Secretary Benson Upah, the unions directed all Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) members and all TUC and NLC affiliates working in the FCT Ministry to return to work immediately. They urged strict compliance in the interest of industrial peace and harmony.
The unions said the breakthrough followed intervention by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the FCT, Mohammed Bomoi, during talks that addressed grievances which had paralysed activities at the FCTA secretariat since 19 January.
According to the unions, all issues raised by JUAC were resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. Wike also assured organised labour of mutual respect and continued engagement to sustain a harmonious working relationship.
The resolutions included guarantees that no worker would suffer victimisation for taking part in the industrial action and that all pending cases related to the dispute at the National Industrial Court (NIC) would be withdrawn immediately.
JUAC members had embarked on strike over issues including the non-remittance of statutory deductions such as pensions and the National Housing Fund, delays in the payment of promotion arrears, and concerns over the promotion exercise.
The strike shut down operations across departments and agencies of the FCTA and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), prompting Wike to take legal action against JUAC.
On 27 January, the NIC ordered the workers to suspend the strike, ruling that while the matter qualified as a trade dispute, the right to strike was not absolute once the case was before the court.
Despite the ruling and a directive from the FCTA to resume work, the NLC initially asked its members to continue the industrial action.
On Monday, the NIC issued an interim order restraining the NLC, the TUC and others from staging a protest scheduled for Tuesday, 3 February 2026. Justice Emmanuel Sublim granted the order following an ex parte application by Wike and the FCTA, pending the hearing of a motion on notice.
The court also directed security agencies to prevent any breakdown of law and order, following claims that mobilisation messages for the protest had circulated among union members.