Workers across Osun State have commenced a three-day sympathy strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in solidarity with local government employees over the continued dispute surrounding statutory allocations to the councils.
The industrial action began at midnight on Sunday, November 8, and is scheduled to end at midnight on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
The NLC directed all its affiliate unions in the state to ensure full compliance across their workplaces.
Osun NLC Chairman, Christopher Arapasopo, and Secretary, Victor Amusan, announced the directive in a statement obtained in Osogbo on Sunday, following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government and the Osun State Government.
According to the labour union, the issues raised in the ultimatum remained unresolved despite efforts to secure a resolution.
The NLC said the decision was in line with resolutions reached at an emergency meeting of its State Executive Council on October 28, 2026, directing affiliate unions to embark on the action in support of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Osun State Council.
The congress maintained that the prolonged funding dispute had created hardship for local government workers and should no longer be treated as an isolated concern of NULGE.
It urged its affiliate unions to demonstrate solidarity and unity, stressing that the welfare, dignity and economic security of local government employees were matters affecting the wider labour movement.
The NLC also warned that any affiliate union found deliberately working against or undermining the strike directive would face disciplinary measures under the provisions of the congress.
Earlier, the Osun NLC had warned that failure to resolve the dispute within its seven-day ultimatum would lead to industrial action.
It also announced plans to commence peaceful picketing of United Bank for Africa (UBA) branches across the state from Thursday, November 12, if the dispute persists.
The congress had acknowledged that Governor Ademola Adeleke intervened by paying local government workers their net salaries without deductions, but argued that such intervention could not substitute for the regular release of statutory allocations due to the councils.
The dispute over local government finances is linked to the wider political and legal crisis surrounding control of Osun’s 30 local government areas.
The state government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have remained embroiled in the dispute since February 2025, when competing claims over control of council secretariats triggered violence in several parts of the state.
Police confirmed six deaths during the violence, including Remi Abbas, the then APC-elected chairman of Irewole Local Government Area.
The APC has also criticised the NLC’s planned industrial action, describing the strike and proposed UBA picketing as potentially disruptive and urging labour leaders to pursue institutional and legal channels to resolve the local government dispute.
