Workers in Osun have begun a three-day sympathy strike following a directive by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to press for the release of statutory allocations due to local government areas in the state.
According to a statement signed on Sunday by Christopher Arapasopo, Osun NLC chairman, and Victor Amusan, its secretary, the industrial action began on Sunday night in solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in the state.
The strike follows the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the federal and Osun state governments to end the continued withholding of local government statutory allocations.
The NLC leaders said after exhausting all reasonable avenues without concrete action from the government, they held an emergency meeting on Wednesday, October 28, where they resolved to embark on the three-day strike in solidarity with NULGE.
“The strike shall commence at midnight on Sunday, 8th November, 2026, last for three (3) days, and conclude at midnight on Wednesday, 11th November, 2026,” the statement reads.
“Accordingly, all affiliate unions are directed to immediately communicate this directive in writing to their members and ensure total and full compliance across all workplaces.
“All unions are enjoined to demonstrate maximum solidarity, unity and commitment to the collective struggle for the protection of workers’ rights and welfare. We must emphasise that an injury to one is an injury to all.”
The NLC leaders said the continued hardship confronting local government workers is a collective concern of the entire labour movement, adding that their response must reflect a shared commitment to workers’ rights, dignity, welfare and economic security.
The Osun state government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been locked in a supremacy battle over control of the local government areas since February 2025.
The Osun government had conducted elections in the state’s 30 local councils.
The exercise was marred by violence, disputes and legal battles as the sacked LGA chairpersons, elected on the platform of the APC, sought to reclaim their seats, citing a court judgment.
Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, advised Adeleke to halt the planned election.
Fagbemi said the ousted LGA chairpersons must be reinstated since the court of appeal had dismissed the judgment of the lower court that sacked them.
But Adeleke proceeded with the polls, while the APC and Labour Party (LP) withdrew from the elections.
The APC would later ask the federal government to withhold the allocations, arguing that the local government election was unlawful.
In December 2025, the supreme court dismissed the suit filed by the Osun attorney-general (AG), seeking to compel Fagbemi to release all withheld monthly allocations and revenues and pay them directly into the accounts of the LG councils led by officials elected in February 2025.
The apex court held that the Osun AG lacked the legal authority to institute the case on behalf of the state’s 30 LGAs.
However, the supreme court rejected the AGF’s contempt allegations against the Osun AG, noting that it was the AGF who had committed contempt by withholding the funds.