The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is scheduled to meet to meet with chairmen of the FCT area councils, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Thursday, to address the ongoing strike by primary school teachers and discuss plans for reopening schools in the territory.
The planned meeting was confirmed in a joint statement released Wednesday in Abuja by NANS President Olushola Oladoja and the group’s Public Relations Officer, Adeyemi Ajasa.
According to NANS, a mass protest initially scheduled for Wednesday morning at the FCT Administration Secretariat was suspended after the group was invited to a high-level meeting at the Department of State Services (DSS) Headquarters. At the DSS meeting, the prolonged teachers’ strike and its impact on students were thoroughly examined.
The engagement led to a follow-up session with Muktar Betara, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT, which provided further insight into the strike’s underlying causes and the steps already taken by the Wike-led administration.
A third meeting held on Tuesday with Wike offered more clarity. NANS quoted the minister as saying:
“The FCT remains the only part of the federation operating full local government autonomy. Therefore, all salary payments, including for primary school teachers, fall solely under the jurisdiction of the area councils. The FCTA cannot be held solely responsible for the backlog of unpaid salaries.”
To resolve the crisis, Wike proposed a bailout arrangement in which the FCTA would cover 60% of the teachers’ unpaid salaries, with the area councils responsible for the remaining 40%.
“In a show of responsibility and commitment, the FCT Minister proposed a bailout: the FCTA would pay 60% of the arrears, while the councils would clear the remaining 40%,” the NANS statement read.
When the councils failed to fulfill their part of the agreement, Wike withheld their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for May and June and moved to redirect those funds toward paying the teachers’ arrears.
“When it became clear that the arrangement was not yielding results, the FCT Minister withheld the IGR of the area councils for May and June, intending to use the funds to pay the councils’ 40% share,” NANS added.
The group noted that the withheld funds are expected to be released before the end of the week. While the planned protest has been suspended, NANS said it will continue to monitor the situation to ensure full implementation of the resolutions.
