Over 3,000 contract facility cleaners engaged by the Federal Capital Territory Administration have embarked on an indefinite strike over the non-payment of their salaries for more than nine months.

The strike has crippled cleaning services across government ministries, departments and agencies in the nation’s capital.

The industrial action, which began on September 25, 2025, followed several unresolved complaints and warning notices issued by the contractors under the Association of FCT Solid Waste and Cleaning Contractors to the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, the unit responsible for managing the cleaning contracts.

In a letter addressed to the AMMC before the commencement of the strike, the association said its members had not been paid since January 2025 despite their continued service to the FCTA.

The contractors said they were left with no option but to withdraw services after their appeals and letters received no response.

“We have reached a point where passion and commitment alone cannot sustain this essential service. Without payment, we cannot continue,” the association said in the letter.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that thousands of cleaners had stopped work for about three weeks, forcing civil servants and administrators to clean their offices and toilets, while many government buildings in Abuja now suffer overflowing trash cans and unkempt surroundings.

“They’ve been on strike for like three weeks. I had to clean the office on Monday. They haven’t been paid for more than eight months, so they’re actually on strike.

“I think we’re all just taking actions and doing the cleaning ourselves at this point,” an FCTA staff member, who did not want his name mentioned, told our correspondent.

Another staff member, Joseph, said many offices had resorted to buying cleaning materials in order to avoid health hazards due to accumulating waste.

“Some offices bought mops, brooms, and trash bags to clean the office themselves. If you visit the toilet, it’s a mess. Some days ago, you would think there was a flood.

“There is water everywhere and some would urinate and not flush. So, some people have now taken it upon themselves and are taking turns to clean, just to avoid any health hazards. It’s crazy,” he said.

One of the striking contract cleaners, who identified herself simply as Iliya, said the workers had been enduring hardship for months, surviving on financial help from colleagues while waiting for their wages.

“They owe us more than eight months, and the contractors owe about three months. I stay in Jahi village. Our rent is N300,000 but we have not been paid. I’m surviving by the grace of God and the help of some of our bosses here,” she said.

She disclosed that the strike did not come as a surprise as the cleaners had issued several strike threats and even staged a protest in Area 11 earlier in the year.

Despite their hardship, Iliya said the workers were still being paid only N20,000 monthly, a figure she described as “painful and humiliating” considering the economic situation in the country.

Findings by our correspondent shows that the FCTA budgeted over N7.3bn for environmental sanitation and public facility maintenance in the 2025 fiscal year, raising questions about why contract cleaners responsible for maintaining government offices have gone unpaid for nine months.

Efforts to get clarification on the situation from the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council were unsuccessful, as calls to the Coordinator, Felix Obuah, were not answered.

Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, did not respond to messages sent to him via text and WhatsApp as of the time of filing this report.