Wike to meet NUT, NANS, and council leaders over prolonged FCT public school shutdown.
Students suspend protest as salary bailout plan emerges, area councils blamed for funding default.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is set to meet on Thursday with key stakeholders, including chairmen of the FCT area councils, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), to address the ongoing closure of public primary schools in the territory.
This development was disclosed in a joint statement issued on Wednesday by NANS President Olushola Oladoja and the association’s Public Relations Officer, Adeyemi Ajasa, in Abuja.
NANS revealed it had initially scheduled a protest at the FCT Administration Secretariat for Wednesday morning. However, the plan was shelved following a high-level meeting with officials at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters.
During the meeting, participants deliberated on the teachers’ prolonged strike and its negative impact on students. This engagement led to a follow-up session with Muktar Betara, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the FCT.
According to NANS, these discussions helped clarify the underlying reasons for the teachers’ industrial action and what the FCT Administration under Wike has done to resolve the crisis. A third meeting was later held with Wike himself, during which he offered more context on the matter.
Wike reportedly explained that the FCT is the only administrative unit in Nigeria practicing full local government autonomy. As a result, the responsibility for paying primary school teachers’ salaries lies solely with the area councils, not the FCT Administration.
“The FCTA should not be solely blamed for salary arrears, as payment obligations fall under the jurisdiction of the area councils,” Wike was quoted as saying.
Nonetheless, Wike proposed a bailout arrangement, under which the FCTA would shoulder 60% of the unpaid salaries, while the area councils would cover the remaining 40%.
“In a show of responsibility and commitment to resolving the crisis, Wike intervened by proposing a bailout, with FCTA offering to pay 60 per cent of the outstanding arrears while the area councils cover the remaining 40 per cent,” the statement read.
However, when the area councils failed to fulfill their share of the agreement, the FCT Minister reportedly withheld their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for May and June. The funds were earmarked for settling the councils’ 40% contribution to the teachers’ salaries.
NANS stated that the withheld revenue is expected to be released before the end of the week to facilitate salary payments.
Following these developments, the student body has suspended its planned protest but pledged to closely monitor the implementation of the resolutions.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the rights of Nigerian students and ensuring that no child is deprived of education due to administrative failures,” the association concluded.
