The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is set to hold a crucial meeting on Thursday with chairmen of the FCT area councils, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in an effort to resolve the ongoing strike by public primary school teachers in the territory.
This was revealed in a joint statement released on Wednesday in Abuja by NANS President, Olushola Oladoja, and the association’s Public Relations Officer, Adeyemi Ajasa.
NANS had initially planned a mass protest at the FCT Administration Secretariat on Wednesday morning.
However, the protest was suspended following a meeting between NANS leaders and officials at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters, where concerns were raised about the strike’s impact on students.
Following that, NANS leadership held further meetings, including a strategic dialogue with the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT, Muktar Betara, and a direct engagement with Minister Wike.
During these meetings, Wike explained the root causes of the strike and outlined measures already taken by the FCT Administration (FCTA).
Wike noted that the FCT operates under full local government autonomy, making the area councils solely responsible for paying primary school teachers. He stressed that the FCTA should not bear full blame for the salary backlog.
To address the issue, the minister proposed a bailout arrangement under which the FCTA would shoulder 60% of the unpaid salaries, while the area councils would cover the remaining 40%.
However, after the councils failed to meet their financial commitment, Wike withheld their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for May and June, stating that the funds would be redirected to cover the councils’ share of the payments.
According to NANS, the withheld funds are expected to be released before the end of the week to enable payment of salaries and the reopening of schools.
The students’ union announced the suspension of its planned protest but pledged to closely monitor the implementation of the resolutions.
“We remain dedicated to defending students’ rights and ensuring that no child is deprived of education due to government neglect,” the statement read.
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