Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike has summoned Chairmen of FCT area councils and leadership of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, for a crucial meeting.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the meeting also includes the FCT chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
This is coming after the various unions, under the umbrella body of the NLC, protested against the non-payment of salary arrears and wage award to the Minister’s office on Thursday.
The workers had been on strike for over a month, resulting in the shutting down of primary schools and primary healthcare centers in the FCT.
The meeting was to find lasting solutions to the lingering primary school teachers’ strike over unresolved welfare concerns.
Wike stated in Abuja, after inspecting ongoing projects in preparation for inauguration to celebrate the second anniversary of President Bola Tinubu, that the protest was unfortunate.
The minister, who described the development as very pathetic, wondered why the chairmen of the FCT area councils did not have conscience.
He said that the area council chairmen refused to pay the teachers their entitlements, in spite of receiving approved funds specifically for that purpose.
“They were unable to pay them. In fact, I got the report yesterday and have summoned all of them for a meeting.
“You see, that’s the problem we have in this country; by the time I apply the big stick, people will be saying all kinds of things.
“I don’t know why people don’t have conscience that these are teachers who take care of our children, and you are happy that you are not paying them their salaries,” he said.
Wike explained that primary schools were under the purview of the area councils and not FCT Administration, adding that the area councils were in charge of primary schools.
He appealed to the NUT to give him some time, assuring that the issues would be sorted out soon.
Earlier, the NUT Chairman, Mr Abdullahi Shafa, who led the protest, acknowledged Wike’s intervention to resolve the lingering strike, including the release of N4.1 billion to the area councils to pay the striking teachers.
He accused the area council chairmen of diverting the funds and called on the National Assembly and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission to intervene and called them to order.
Recall that primary school teachers had embarked on a series of strikes over non-payment of minimum wage and 40 per cent Peculiar Allowance.
Other unresolved issues included the non-implementation of 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increases, and the N35,000 wage award, among other benefits.
Similarly, the FCT chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) on Thursday staged a protest in Abuja.
The protest was over the shutdown of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports primary healthcare centers across the FCT have been shut down with pregnant women, near delivery, chased away.
Their demands include the immediate reopening of PHCs, implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage, and payment of outstanding arrears and allowances.
The protest also included members of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
It was in response to the ongoing health crisis caused by the prolonged closure of more than 270 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the six area councils in the FCT.
Speaking during the protest, Mr Jama Medan, Chairman of NANNM-FCT, lamented the deteriorating health situation, stating that Nigeria ranked second globally in maternal and child mortality rates.
He warned that continued closure of PHCs could worsen the crisis.
“We have less than 130 nurses and midwives manning these centres. Women and children are dying because the facilities have been shut for over a month.
“There’s a gross shortage of manpower, and no one in government is addressing the issue,” Medan said.
He alleged that in spite of the release of more than N4.1 billion by the FCT Minister to address the crisis, area council chairmen had refused to pay entitlements.
These entitlements, he said include hazard and uniform allowances for nurses and other health workers.
Medan also expressed concern over the disruption of a scheduled nationwide polio vaccination campaign in the FCT due to the shutdown, warning that the territory risked new cases of the disease.
In solidarity, NUT FCT Chairman, Mr Abdullahi Shafa, condemned the non-payment of minimum wage to primary school teachers, noting that they had been on strike for more than a month.
He called on the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, to intervene urgently to avoid a total collapse of the education system in the area councils.
The NLC also threatened to join the protest if the minister failed to act on the workers’ demands within a week.
Responding on behalf of the Minister, Dr Hayyo Danlami, Mandate Secretary of the FCT Education Secretariat, promised to deliver the protesters’ letter to the minister and assured them that their concerns would be addressed.