The strike action carried out by primary school teachers under the Local Education Authority (LEA) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been halted. The teachers had initiated the strike in January, protesting the nonpayment of their 25-month national minimum wage arrears and the failure to implement the 40 per cent peculiar allowance by the six area council chairmen of the FCT.
In a joint communique signed by the State Chairman of the FCT wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Abdullahi Mohammed Shafas; Secretary, Margaret F. Jethro; and Publicity Secretary, Ibikun Adekeye, the suspension of the strike was announced. The decision was made following an emergency meeting of the State Wing Executive Committee (SWEC) of the union held at the Teachers House in Gwagwalada, FCT, on Friday evening.
The union disclosed that the resolution to suspend the ongoing strike was a result of the intervention by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. The minister committed to paying 40 percent of the total sum of the 25 months’ arrears of the national minimum wage. Additionally, the six area council chairmen pledged to settle the remaining 60 percent, amounting to N7 billion, within three months, starting from January 2024.