Osun Workers Begin Three-Day Strike as NLC Demands Release of Withheld Council Funds

• Osun workers begin a three-day strike over withheld local government allocations, with the NLC directing affiliated unions to comply after a seven-day ultimatum expired.

Workers in Osun State have begun a three-day sympathy strike following a directive by the Nigeria Labour Congress over the continued withholding of statutory allocations due to local government councils.

The industrial action, scheduled to run from Monday, November 9, to Wednesday, November 11, is in solidarity with members of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE.

The directive followed the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government and the Osun State Government to resolve the dispute.

In a statement signed by the Osun NLC Chairman, Christopher Arapasopo, and Secretary, Victor Amusan, the congress said the concerns raised during the ultimatum remained unresolved.

The labour leaders instructed affiliated unions to communicate the strike directive immediately to their members and ensure compliance across their workplaces. They also warned that unions deliberately undermining the action could face disciplinary measures under the congress’s rules.

The NLC said the decision followed resolutions reached at an emergency meeting of its State Executive Council on October 28.

According to the congress, the difficulties facing local government employees should concern the wider labour movement, making solidarity necessary to protect workers’ welfare.

“The continued hardship confronting our comrades in NULGE is a collective concern of the entire labour movement,” the statement said.

The strike adds another dimension to the prolonged dispute over local government administration in Osun. The state government and the All Progressives Congress have been locked in a struggle over control of council administrations since February 2025.

The latest labour action centres on securing the release of council allocations and addressing the hardship identified by the unions. The directive sets out a three-day stoppage rather than an indefinite strike.

The extent of compliance across individual workplaces was not established in the reports reviewed at the time of writing.