Wike Engages FCT Council Leaders, Teachers, and Students Over Ongoing Schools’ Strike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is set to meet on Thursday with area council chairmen, representatives of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to address the prolonged closure of public primary schools in the FCT.

The development was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by NANS President, Olushola Oladoja, and the association’s Public Relations Officer, Adeyemi Ajasa.

NANS revealed that it had initially planned a mass protest at the FCT Administration Secretariat on Wednesday morning to demand swift action on the strike, which has left thousands of students out of school.

However, the protest was shelved following an invitation to a closed-door meeting at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters.

During the meeting, NANS officials and security stakeholders discussed the ongoing strike and its negative impact on students across the FCT. The dialogue paved the way for a subsequent strategic engagement with Muktar Betara, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT.

According to NANS, these meetings provided greater clarity on the root causes of the industrial action and the measures taken by the FCT Administration under Wike’s leadership.

A follow-up meeting held on Tuesday with the FCT Minister saw Wike provide further explanations on the salary crisis affecting primary school teachers.

He explained that, unlike other parts of the country, the FCT operates full local government autonomy, which makes area councils solely responsible for paying primary school teachers.

“The FCT Administration does not directly manage the salaries of primary school teachers. That responsibility lies with the area councils, who control their own finances,” Wike was quoted as saying.

To help resolve the salary crisis, Wike reportedly proposed a bailout plan, with the FCTA agreeing to cover 60% of the outstanding salaries, while the area councils were expected to pay the remaining 40%.

However, when the councils failed to fulfill their part of the arrangement, Wike took further action by withholding the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) due to the area councils for May and June.

“The withheld IGR is being earmarked to cover the councils’ outstanding 40% share of the salary arrears owed to teachers,” NANS explained.

The association noted that the withheld funds are expected to be released this week to address the backlog.

In light of these developments, NANS announced the suspension of its planned protest but vowed to closely monitor the situation.

“We remain committed to protecting the rights of Nigerian students and ensuring that no child’s education suffers as a result of avoidable government shortcomings,” the association concluded.