The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is scheduled to meet on Thursday with the chairpersons of the FCT area councils, alongside leaders of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
This meeting, as indicated in a statement by NANS in Abuja on Wednesday, aims to finalise the arrangements for the reopening of all public primary schools within the FCT. The statement, signed by Olushola Oladoja, the National President of NANS, and Adeyemi Ajasa, the National Public Relations Officer, was disseminated to journalists in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
Furthermore, the statement noted that NANS had initially resolved to conduct a mass protest on Wednesday morning at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Secretariat.
However, the leadership of the association was subsequently invited for a high-level engagement at the Department of State Services (DSS) Headquarters, where pertinent issues on national security and student welfare were discussed.
The report elaborated that the initial meeting at the DSS facilitated a subsequent strategic discussion with Muktar Betara, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the FCT.
This engagement revealed the underlying causes of the ongoing industrial action by the NUT and highlighted the efforts that have been undertaken by the Wike-led FCTA.
Moreover, a third meeting with Minister Wike took place on Tuesday, during which the minister elucidated the issues at hand.
According to the statement, “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.
“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 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 May and June, with a plan to utilize these funds to make up the 40 per cent requested of area council to clear the outstanding arrears owed to teachers.
“Based on this intervention, it was expected that the two-month arrears withheld would be ready before the end of the week,” it said.
The association has announced that, in light of productive discussions and the progress made, it will suspend the previously planned protest. However, the association will continue to closely monitor the implementation of all resolutions that have been established.
The association further states that, “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.”