Primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have agreed to end their three-month strike following the intervention of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The teachers, under the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), embarked on strike on March 24 over the non-payment of the N70,000 minimum wage and arrears by the six area council chairmen.
Earlier, Minister Wike approved N4.1 billion to settle the wage backlog, but the strike continued amid allegations of fund diversion by the council chairmen.
However, recent protests by teachers and concerned individuals prompted the minister to convene a meeting between the NUT, FCT Administration, and the council chairmen.
Speaking after the closed-door meeting, Chidi Amadi, Chief of Staff to the minister, said the teachers promised to call off the strike.
Amadi revealed that part of the resolution was to withhold the 10% Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the area councils for the past six months to settle about 70% of the owed wages.
“Although this will not cover all the debts, it will address around 70% of the minimum wage arrears. This is a laudable step towards resolving the crisis,” he said.
He added that a committee will revisit other outstanding issues and submit a report within two weeks on how they will be resolved permanently.
Amadi also disclosed that Minister Wike has pledged to address all issues affecting local government employees to ensure the area councils resume full operations immediately.
