News
STRIKE: Businesses, Airports, Hospitals, Power Supply Affected As Labour Begins Nationwide Strike
Workers have downed tools across the nation as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) begin their industrial action over the hike in electricity tariff and a lack of consensus on a new minimum wage.
While the National Assembly had stepped in at the last minute to avoid the industrial action declared on Friday, the discussions ended in a stalemate, leading to the commencement of the strike.
The industrial action has affected businesses and critical services across the country including schools, hospitals, and power supply as workers complied with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) order.
From River State in the South-South region to Kaduna in Nigeria’s North-West, the workers’ actions grounded economic activities.
Airports Shut
Activities were halted at airports across the country including Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Lagos.
At the Port Harcourt Airport, as early as 7:00 am, airport workers under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) blocked access into the airport for vehicles.
This left passengers stranded, forcing some of them to come down from their vehicles and trek into the airport. However, flights haven’t been disrupted and there is a heavy security presence.
According to the Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals Emmanuel Akagha, the passengers are still being allowed into the airport because the road leading to the airport connects some communities. He, however, said there’s no checking-in or boarding allowed.
It was a similar situation in Lagos State as passengers. At the airport, some stranded passengers were captured with luggage in hand. The aviation unions locked the gate, denying staff and passengers access to the terminal.
At the Abuja Airport, there is an unusual quietness. A few passengers are seen at one of the entrances into the terminal as doors are locked. Inside the airport terminal is empty. No staff were in sight. The airline stands were also empty.
Strike Grounds Academic Activities
Activities were equally paused in schools. Across the country, students who were already in school were sent back.
In the nation’s capital Abuja, Channels Television spotted clusters of forlorn public school students returning home. In Ibadan, Oyo State, students who turned up at school were sent back by their teachers in compliance with labour’s directive.
The situation was the same in Oyo, Cross River, and other states.
In Kaduna, students of the Kaduna Polytechnic were locked out of their campus by labour officials in compliance.
As early as 7 am, union officials stormed the Unguwan Rimi Campus of the school. They drove the students out of the institution and locked the gate.
Some of the students who spoke to Channels Television condemned the incident, asking labour to return to the negotiation table. They are worried that their academic calendar will be affected if the strike continues.
Nationwide Blackout, Hospital Closed
Labour leaders in Kaduna also sealed the main gate of the National Ear Care Centre. They chased out the workers and also prevented out-patients from getting into the hospital.
Early Monday, the national grid was shut down by workers, throwing the nation into a blackout.
The General Manager (Public Affairs) of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Ndidi Mbah said the nationwide blackout was due to staff of the TCN, under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Workers (NUEE), completely shutting down all power substations across the country at approximately 2:19 am on Monday, causing the national grid system to drop to zero megawatts.
In compliance with the NLC/TUC order, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) also shut down operations at the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO).
The Kaduna State Chairman of the TUC Abdullahi Danfulani said all affiliate unions are complying totally with the strike and won’t back down until the Federal Government does the needful.
Unionists have also shut government offices and disrupted activities in some banks.
The NLC and TUC in Edo State locked up the State Secretariat in Benin City, shutting out civil servants from the complex. The unions say even though the state government recently increased the minimum wage to N70,000, they had to comply with the national body’s directive, maintaining that the strike is not targeted at the state.
In Imo State, NLC officials also locked out civil servants at the State Secretariat in Owerri the state capital.
Both fuel stations, schools, and banks across the Calabar metropolis in Cross River complied with the exercise.
The situation is not different in Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre Lagos as government offices have been shut.
In Alausa, where most state government offices are located, workers were locked out, and business activities were grounded.
Channels Television observed that the roads were unusually less busy for a Monday morning in Lagos. The Lagos State Chairman of the NLC says the union is out to ensure compliance with the directive issued by its directive issued by executives.
Courts were also closed in Lagos State.
Neighbouring Ogun State is also experiencing a crippling of economic activities. The Federal Secretariat in Abeokuta, the state capital, is under lock and key. Workers stayed away from the office. The NLC Secretariat in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, was also deserted.
At the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, labour leaders met some workers on the ground and ordered all non-essential staff to evacuate the premises.
Arriving at SPDC Industrial Area, Port Harcourt, the labour leaders opposed strongly partial compliance, insisting that the strike includes the management.
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has announced Senator Ireti Heebah Kingibe as the party’s flag bearer for the Federal Capital Territory senatorial election ahead of the 2027 general polls.
Kingibe secured a landslide victory in the party’s primary election, polling 17,535 votes to defeat her sole challenger, Mubarak Tijjani, who garnered 806 votes.
Declaring the results at the ADC secretariat in Abuja, the chairman and returning officer for the senatorial and House of Representatives primaries, Abubakar Adamu, confirmed Kingibe as the winner of the exercise.
The primary election also produced candidates for the two House of Representatives seats in the FCT.
In the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, Bala Iyah emerged victorious with 4,937 votes, defeating Yahaya Fatima Goya, who polled 2,015 votes, while Ma’aji Johnson Bello secured 1,546 votes. Ismaila Ishak Ozigi received 105 votes.
For the Abaji/Gwagwalada/Kwali/Kuje Federal Constituency, Alhassan Salihu clinched the party’s ticket with 9,016 votes, defeating Khalid A. Haruna, who polled 2,955 votes.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission monitored the conduct of the primaries.
Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has expressed confidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will secure victory in the 2027 presidential election, stating that no opposition candidate, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, can prevent the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from retaining power.
Namadi made the remarks after casting his vote during the APC presidential primary election held at his polling unit in Kafin Hausa Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The governor reiterated his commitment to delivering more than one million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the next general election, saying the target was realistic given the widespread support the APC enjoys across Jigawa State.
He noted that the large turnout witnessed during the primary election demonstrated the confidence party members and residents have in both President Tinubu and the APC-led administration.
According to Namadi, the peaceful and transparent conduct of the exercise also reflected the President’s respect for democratic values and internal party democracy.
The governor further stated that the outcome of the APC primary election signalled what to expect in the 2027 polls, predicting an overwhelming victory for the ruling party nationwide.
Namadi described Jigawa as one of the APC’s strongest support bases, pointing out that the state ranks among those with the highest number of registered voters in the country.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman for allegedly attempting to smuggle a large consignment of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria.
The suspect, described as Ting Hung Kiong who naturalised in Malaysia, was arrested on Sunday, May 17, 2026, upon arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, from Thailand via Dubai on an Emirates Airline flight.
This was contained in a statement made available to the column.ng on (today) Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
According to the agency, NDLEA operatives attached to the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall intercepted her after she was found to have two large travel boxes containing 31.0 kilograms of the illicit substance.
“During an interview, the 63-year-old suspect who claims she works as a caregiver in Malaysia stated that her daughter sponsored her trip from Malaysia to Thailand and subsequently to Nigeria.
“She further disclosed that she spent two weeks in Thailand, before she was handed the illicit consignment at the Thailand airport to deliver in Nigeria,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA also announced the interception of another major drug shipment at the Lagos airport import shed.
“Following close monitoring of the consignment by NDLEA operatives since its arrival from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight, the 29 large cartons containing One Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ten (1,825,710) tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, worth Two Billion, One Hundred and Ninety Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Two Thousand Naira (N2,190,852,000) were eventually handed over to the NDLEA by the Customs Service on Friday 22nd May 2026,” it said.
In another operation at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, NDLEA operatives on May 20 arrested a suspect, Onyeka Valentine Emeka, during inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa.
The suspect, according to the agency, excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine while under observation.
Babafemi added that “at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide was on Wednesday 21st May arrested by NDLEA operatives while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Abuja via Addis Ababa to Milan Malpensa, Italy.
“A search conducted on his luggage led to the recovery of 10,280 pills of Tramaking 225mg; Tramadol 200mg and Tapentadol 250mg. The opioids were concealed using foil paper and hidden inside a carton, in a suitcase, obviously to evade detection.
“In yet another operation at a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA (Ecstasy) concealed in bicycle luggage carrier heading to Netherlands; 66 pills of tramadol 225mg hidden in soap container going to the United States and 18 tablets of tramadol 225mg concealed in body cream container heading to the United Kingdom,” the agency said.
In Edo State, operatives acting on intelligence raided Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area, where 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489kg and 9kg of cannabis seeds were recovered.
The agency also said a 30-year-old suspect, Isah Sani, was arrested with 196,000 pills of Exol-5 along the Zaria–Kano road in Kano State on May 20, while operatives at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, recovered 59kg of skunk from a warehouse in Mowo on May 19.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives on May 23 raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116 kilograms of skunk, arresting a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, in connection with the seizure.
The agency also disclosed continued nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres and communities across several states.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers involved in the operations and charged them to sustain the agency’s drug supply reduction and sensitisation efforts.
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