The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), trade union side, has warned the Federal Government that the ongoing three-day warning strike by workers in Osun State could escalate into a total strike or mass protest if the withheld statutory allocations due to the state’s local government areas are not released immediately.
The council, which declared its support for the industrial action called by the Osun State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), described the continued withholding of the funds as an excessive use of political power, warning that the situation had inflicted severe economic hardship on local government workers and their dependants.
In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga, the JNPSNC said it had reviewed the circumstances surrounding the strike and considered the workers’ demand for the release of the allocations justified.
According to the council, the funds have remained withheld since February 2025, amounting to approximately 21 months as of November 2026, thereby undermining the effective administration of local governments and worsening the economic conditions of their employees.
The council argued that the continued withholding of the allocations had far-reaching consequences for grassroots governance, particularly as local governments remained the closest tier of government to the people.
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It accused the Federal Government and the agencies responsible for withholding the funds of using federal power to undermine local government administration in Osun State, describing the situation as inconsistent with the principles of democratic governance.
The JNPSNC, therefore, called on the Federal Government and all relevant authorities to respond to the concerns of the affected workers by releasing the outstanding allocations without further delay.
The statement reads: “The national leadership of JNPSNC considered that the continued withholding of the Osun State local government fund by the Federal Government is not only excessive use of political power but also reckless without conscience, on account that the far-reaching negative implications on the economic fortunes of the local government administration on the one hand and the economic subjugation on the local government workers and their dependants on the other hand is better imagined than experienced.
“Consequent upon the cry of all workers in Osun State, it is very desirable for the Federal Government and all concerned to release the funds without further delay to allow Osun State local government workers and their dependants to have economic breathing room.
“From the look of things and the economic death sentence, the local government workers in Osun State Council are passing through the three-day warning strike, which may dovetail into a total strike or protest by Osun State workers against the Federal Government if the non-release of withheld Osun State local government funds persists.”
