Osun APC Warns NLC Against Planned Strike, UBA Picketing Over LG Funds

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned the state leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) against embarking on its planned sympathy strike and picketing of United Bank for Africa (UBA) branches over the lingering dispute surrounding local government allocations in the state.

The party described the proposed industrial action as unjustified and politically motivated, urging the labour union to shelve the plan and explore lawful institutional channels to resolve the dispute.

The APC’s position was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and signed by its Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi.

The NLC had announced plans to embark on a sympathy strike from November 8 to 11, followed by the peaceful picketing of UBA branches across Osun State from November 12, if the dispute over local government statutory allocations remained unresolved.

Reacting, the APC called on the Osun State Police Command and other security agencies to remain vigilant and take necessary steps to prevent any breakdown of law and order during the planned industrial action.

The party argued that picketing a commercial bank over disagreements concerning local government allocations was counterproductive, insisting that legal and administrative disputes should be addressed through appropriate institutional mechanisms.

It maintained that labour leaders were not above the law and should not allow their positions to be used to create tension or disrupt public peace.

The APC further urged security agencies to investigate and prosecute anyone found responsible for any breach of public peace arising from the planned action.

On the substantive local government dispute, the party accused the NLC leadership of failing to adequately consider the legal issues surrounding the status of elected local government chairmen and councillors reinstated under the APC.

It argued that the rights of the reinstated elected officials should not be disregarded because they belonged to a political party different from that of the state government.

The party also faulted what it described as the NLC’s failure to maintain political neutrality in handling the crisis, insisting that workers’ welfare should remain the union’s primary concern.

While acknowledging the responsibility of organised labour to protect workers’ salaries, pensions and allowances, the APC questioned the justification for the proposed strike, claiming that the union had not established that local government workers were being denied their salaries or other entitlements.

According to the party, the NLC had not demonstrated that salaries were unpaid or delayed, or that workers’ pensions, allowances and other benefits had been withheld by the local government authorities.

The APC also argued that the dispute over statutory allocations should be viewed within the context of local government autonomy, stressing that funds accruing to the councils from the Federation Account belonged to the respective local government areas and not the state government.

It cited the Supreme Court’s position on local government autonomy, saying the NLC should demonstrate impartiality and prioritise workers’ welfare while respecting the rule of law.

The party further alleged that the planned industrial action was designed to influence public perception against the APC elected council officials currently occupying local government offices in the state.

It, therefore, called on the National Secretariat of the NLC to intervene and prevent its Osun State chapter from allowing partisan political considerations to undermine its responsibility to workers.

The APC maintained that the dispute required dialogue, legal clarity and respect for institutional processes rather than industrial action capable of disrupting economic and commercial activities across the state.