The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is scheduled to meet on Thursday with FCT area council chairmen, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, and the National Association of Nigerian Students to discuss the reopening of public primary schools in the territory.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, NANS President Olushola Oladoja and the group’s Public Relations Officer, Adeyemi Ajasa, confirmed the meeting.
NANS clarified that it had already organised a large-scale demonstration for Wednesday morning at the FCT Administration Secretariat.
Its leaders were invited to a high-level meeting at the Department of State Services Headquarters, which caused the plan to shift.
NANS revealed that at the meeting, the ongoing strike and its effects on students were discussed thoroughly, adding that the first engagement led to another strategic session with Muktar Betara, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT.
According to NANS, the meetings made it clearer why the teachers went on strike and what the Wike-led FCTA has accomplished thus far.
It stated that Wike provided more explanation during a third meeting on Tuesday.
“That the FCT remains the only unit of the federation operating full local government autonomy; hence, all salary payments, including that of primary school teachers, are the sole responsibility of the area councils.
“The FCT Administration is not directly responsible for the backlog of teachers’ salaries and therefore should not be held solely accountable for the inadequacies of the area councils,” NANS quoted Wike as saying.
According to NANS, Wike had proposed a rescue plan in which the councils were to pay 40% of the teachers’ outstanding salary and the FCTA would cover 60% of them.
The statement reads, “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.”
When this plan failed, the FCT minister withheld Internally Generated Revenue from the area councils for the months of May and June, with the intention of using the funds to settle the councils’ 40% debt.
It added, “When it became clear that this arrangement was not yielding desired results, the FCT minister withheld the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the area councils for the months of May and June, with a plan to utilise these funds to make up the 40 per cent requested of area council to clear the outstanding arrears owed to teachers.”
The withheld funds should be reimbursed before the end of the week, NANS added.
The planned demonstration has been halted, according to NANS, but it will continue to keep an eye on how the resolutions are carried out.
“We reaffirm our commitment to defending the rights of Nigerian students and ensuring that no child is denied access to education due to governmental lapses,” the association stated.
