The President of the Joint Union Action Congress of the Federal Capital Territory Administration and Federal Capital Development Authority (FCTA/FCDA), Rifkatu Iortyer, has rejected claims by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and his aides that most of the unions’ demands have been met, insisting that the narrative being circulated is inaccurate.
Speaking on Arise Television on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Iortyer responded to assertions credited to the minister’s aides, including Lere Olayinka, that 10 out of 14 demands raised by the unions had been fully addressed, leaving only four outstanding issues. She dismissed the claim outright, stating that the unions never presented 14 demands. “Now, let me tell you. We did not have 14 demands,” she said.
Iortyer explained that the unions initially submitted a broader list of demands to different authorities at various stages of engagement. “As at when the DSS invited us, we gave them 22 demands,” she said. She added that a separate submission was made to the FCT management. “But with the management, with the head of service, we gave her 18,” Iortyer stated.
According to her, the list was later narrowed at the request of the Department of State Services (DSS). “So we gave the DSS 22. And the DSS representative said, come up with 10 priority lists,” she explained. She said the unions agreed to identify priority areas but maintained that all the issues were critical. “And so in the list given to them, we decided to, like, be ticking, ticking, ticking. And they said, no, let's stop at 10,”she said.
Iortyer stressed that the reduction in number did not mean the other demands were no longer important. “Even though everything on that list is priority to us,” she added. She further suggested that misinformation may have informed the minister’s public comments. “We gave 22. But because the SA does not even know exactly, it is what they told him, because he's never been in any meeting,” she said.
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