The leadership of the FCT wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) will meet today to deliberate on whether to call off their three-month-old strike. This is coming after the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, met with union representatives, the six area council chairmen, and other stakeholders to find a resolution to the primary school teachers’ ongoing strike.
Other participants at yesterday’s meeting included representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANs) and the National Assembly.
Abuja Metro reports that the teachers have been on strike since March due to the non-payment of backlog arrears by the six area council chairmen.
FCT NUT Chairman, Mohammed Shafa, told Abuja Metro last night that the union’s leadership would meet today to discuss the resolutions reached during their meeting with the minister.
Earlier, the Minister’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Chidi Amadi, briefed journalists after the closed-door meeting, explaining that the meeting was convened by the minister as part of continued efforts to find a lasting solution to the prolonged strike.
According to Amadi, after extensive deliberation, a decision was reached to resolve the issues.
He announced that part of the resolution was to withhold 10 percent of the area councils’ Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the past six months.
These funds, he explained, would be used to settle 70 percent of the minimum wage owed to the teachers.
“Although it will not cover 100 percent of the debt for now, it will cover about 70 percent. This is a laudable move towards addressing the fracas once and for all,” Amadi stated.
The Chief of Staff added that the minister had also directed the formation of a special committee.
This committee will comprise three NUT members, two FCTA members, one area council chairman, and a representative from NANs.
The committee is tasked with revisiting all other outstanding issues and submitting a report within two weeks detailing how these issues will be permanently addressed.
“In addition to addressing the issues of the primary school teachers, Wike has taken a decision to address all outstanding issues of the local government employees.
“The minister pledged to personally intervene to ensure that their demands are addressed by the FCTA,” Amadi noted.
Speaking on behalf of the area council chairmen, Mr. Abubakar Abdullahi acknowledged the resolution, stating that “although it was not in favour of the area councils, it was necessary to resolve the issues.”
“Six months of our IGR has been held to settle this issue,” Abdullahi said. “Ours at this point is to appeal to NUT to consider our children and call off the strike. Please NUT, we are calling on you to respect the fact that the minister has taken his time to resolve this matter.”
Abdullahi further explained, “Wike had clearly stated that by law, he has no right to take the 10 percent IGR of the area councils to clear the outstanding debt of the teachers. However, the chairmen have all agreed because they also, collectively, want an end to the strike, and so we have agreed that the 10 percent IGR should go to the teachers.” He expressed optimism that the strike would be called off before Friday, allowing children to return to school.
Similarly, the National President of NANs, Olushola Oladoja, lauded the resolutions and expressed hope that the outcome would finally put the matter to rest and facilitate the teachers’ return to class. Oladoja commended the minister for taking this bold step, emphasizing that any of the council chairmen could legally challenge such a decision.
“However, I believe because the council chairmen also want the issue resolved, they have no option but to concede the IGR for six months,” he concluded.
