July 14, (THEWILL) — The Nigeria Union of Teachers, Federal Capital Territory chapter, finally called off the three-month primary school teachers’ strike, following the intervention of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
According to reports, the teachers had embarked on the strike in March over the non-implementation of the minimum wage and other issues, including failure on the part of the FCT Administration to implement and pay 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increments, as well as payment of a 40 per cent peculiar allowance.
They were also demanding the payment of the N35,000 wage award and the implementation of the template on outstanding entitlements of teachers as agreed in 2022.
Perhaps realising the import of a prolonged teachers’ strike on the educational development of children living in the FCT, Wike had no choice other than to convene a closed-meeting with chairmen of area councils, the leadership of the NUT and representatives of the FCT Administration, the National Association of Nigerian Students and the National Assembly.
Evidently, the purpose of the meeting was to find a lasting solution to the strike and other challenges. At length, a decision was reached to put the issues to rest.
Part of the decision was to withhold the 10 per cent of the Internally Generated Revenue of the area councils accruing for the past six months.
According to the Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Chidi Amadi, who addressed the media after the meeting, the funds would be used to settle 70 per cent of the minimum wage owed the striking teachers.
“Although it will not cover 100 per cent of the debt for now, it will cover about 70 per cent. This is a laudable move towards addressing the fracas once and for all,” he said.
The chief of staff said the minister had also directed that a Special Committee, comprising three members of the NUT, two members from FCTA, one area council chairman and a representative of NANs, be constituted.
The committee’s task, he added, would be to revisit all the other outstanding issues and within two weeks, submit a report detailing how the other outstanding issues would be permanently addressed.
Now that the matter has been resolved, we join other Nigerians, particularly residents of the FCT who have quietly borne the brunt of the teachers’ strike these past four months, to commend Wike’s effort at bringing a solution to the impasse.
The FCT Minister’s intervention, although not exactly timely, has somewhat restored confidence in the ability of the administration to rise to the challenges of governance and deliver the desired results.
Also, we commend the area council chairmen for their maturity and willingness to cooperate with the FCT administration towards the resolution of the crisis.
The primary school teachers’ strike would have entered a critical and more embarrassing phase but for the chairmen’s prompt recognition of the urgent need to address their demands.
The area council chairmen intentionally looked the other way as Wike proceeded to withhold 10 percent of the councils’ IGR for six months in order settling the administration’s debts to the teachers.
Nevertheless, we expect the strike to serve as a lesson to the FCT Minister who had wrongly prioritised road construction and rehabilitation over the educational development of primary school children. Wike ought to be reminded that in this modern age education is considered as a basic need and it should be treated as such.
