The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, Thursday threatened to divert the 10 percent Internally Generated Revenue accrued to the FCT area councils to pay the striking primary school teachers in the territory.
Wike, who was responding to questions from journalists on the ongoing strike by the teachers, described the industrial action as unfortunate and unacceptable.
Our correspondent reports that the primary school teachers under the Local Education Authority (LEA) had last week resumed strike over non-payment of the remaining 60 percent of the 25 months’ minimum wage arrears and other entitlements by the six area council chairmen after the 14-day ultimatum elapsed without positive response.
The minister had earlier in the year paid 40 percent of the wage arrears while the area council chairmen promised to pay the remaining 60 percent, the agreement the teachers said they had failed to honour.
The teachers, on Wednesday, barricaded the gates of the councils’ secretariats for hours, preventing workers and other council officials from entering.
But fielding questions from journalists after inspecting the ongoing reconstruction of the Abuja-Karshi road, Wike said no serious government would be happy seeing children of school age at home owing to avoidable strikes.
He warned that he would not fold his arms and allow such things to continue.
He said, “I’ve invited the area council chairmen and then I’ve invited the NUT, and let’s sit down. These are the things we talk about. We try to do what we can do in order to see that the system is moving well. It is unfortunate, which I told the area council chairmen.
And that will mean that if the teachers are not paid, I will use the 10% IGR, which we normally pay them to pay the teachers. No serious government will allow their teachers to stay at home while the children are suffering, I will not tolerate that.”
