…Directs six area council chairmen to bring teachers back to classrooms
…Says strike is political, warns union leaders
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has threatened to stop the salaries of striking teachers who fail to return to work, declaring that the FCT Administration (FCTA) will enforce the no-work-no-pay policy.
Wike, who spoke in Abuja on Friday after an FCT Executive Council meeting, accused the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) of turning the industrial dispute into a political battle.
He directed chairmen of the six area councils to recall the teachers, insisting that the administration had no outstanding issues with them that warranted the strike.
“We want to state categorically and let it be known to the public that this so-called strike action is political, and we will not accept it,” the minister declared.
Wike said the administration had been implementing agreements reached with relevant stakeholders and challenged the justification for shutting down academic activities.
“There is no basis for anybody to call for a strike. We don’t have any issue with any local education authority or secondary schools. All the things that have been agreed are being implemented. So, why do we go on strike?” he asked.
The minister said the area council chairmen had been directed to engage the affected teachers and ensure that they returned to their classrooms.
He insisted that the government would not continue to tolerate industrial action over matters it considered resolved.
Wike also disclosed that the digital promotion exercise for teachers was ongoing, adding that issues concerning the establishment and structure of the civil service were governed by existing administrative arrangements.
He further questioned the strike, citing what he described as the decision of the primary school teachers’ body and the national NUT leadership not to participate in the action.
The FCT minister accused the chapter’s leadership of allowing politics to interfere with union activities.
He alleged that the chairman of the FCT NUT chapter had previously contested an area council election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Wike said labour leaders who wished to engage in partisan politics should not use their union positions to pursue political interests.
“If you want to involve yourself in politics, you are free to. But then, exclude yourself from holding the leadership of the union so you don’t politicise it,” he said.
He maintained that the FCTA was committed to honouring its agreements with workers and urged the area councils to ensure that teachers resumed their duties.
The minister also rejected claims that the FCT was in crisis over the dispute, insisting that the administration was addressing the issues raised by the unions.
The strike has raised concerns about the disruption of teaching and learning in public schools, with parents and pupils potentially bearing the consequences if the disagreement persists.
