Primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have reached an agreement to end their three-month strike.
Gatekeepers News reports that the decision came after a meeting led by Chidi Amadi, the Chief of Staff to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
Attendees included chairmen from the six area councils, leaders of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), representatives from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANs), and members of the national assembly.
The strike began in March and was primarily motivated by issues related to the non-implementation of the new minimum wage, as well as demands for the payment of salary increases of 25 percent and 35 percent, and a peculiar allowance of 40 percent.
Also, the union sought the payment of a wage award of N35,000 and the implementation of a framework for resolving outstanding entitlements for teachers, as outlined in agreements made in 2022.
During the meeting, Wike emphasized the need for a comprehensive solution to the ongoing strike. One significant resolution reached was the decision to withhold 10 percent of the accrued internally generated revenue (IGR) from the area councils, which had been accumulated over the past six months. These funds are earmarked to cover 70 percent of the minimum wage owed to the teachers, aiding in the resolution of this critical issue.
“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,” Amadi said.
The chief of staff added that the minister had also directed that a special committee be constituted, composed of three members of NUT, two members from FCTA, one of the area council chairmen and a representative of the NANs.
He added that the committee would revisit all the other outstanding issues and, within the next two weeks, submit a report detailing how the other outstanding issues would be permanently addressed.
“In addition to addressing the issues of the primary school teachers, Wike had taken a decision to address all outstanding issues of the local government employees,” Amadi said.
“The minister pledged to personally intervene to ensure that their demands are addressed by the FCTA.
“This is to ensure that the area councils resume full operations effective immediately.
Speaking on behalf of the area council chairmen, Abubakar Abdullahi acknowledged the resolution, saying, “although it was not in favour of the area councils, it was necessary to resolve the issues.”
“Six months of our IGR had been held to settle this issue. Ours at this point is to appeal to NUT to consider our children and call off the strike,” he added.
“Please NUT, we are calling on you to respect the fact that the minister has taken his time to resolve this matter.
“Wike had clearly stated that by law, he has no right to take the 10 per cent 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 per cent IGR should go to the teachers.”
Olushola Oladoja, the president of NANS, lauded the resolutions and expressed hope that the outcome would finally put the matter to rest and the teachers would return to class.
Oladoja commended the minister for taking the bold step, stressing that any of the council chairmen could take him to court over 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 said.
Mohammed Shafa, the NUT chairman in the FCT, acknowledged the deliberation, but said he would get back to the union’s state executive council, where the final decision would be taken.
