Public primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja have been directed to return to classrooms effective today, following the suspension of a strike that lasted over three months.
The directive was issued by the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, Comrade Abdullahi Shafas, during a press briefing in Abuja.
Comrade Shafas explained that the decision to call off the industrial action was due to the intervention of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike, who offered a viable solution to the teachers’ demands.
According to him, the FCT Minister has committed to allocating 10 percent of internally generated revenue (IGR) from the Area Councils to offset outstanding salary arrears owed to primary school teachers.
He described the offer as a temporary but workable pathway that has created room for continued negotiations and progress, prompting the Union to suspend the strike in good faith.
The teachers had embarked on the strike on March 24, protesting the non-payment of salary arrears and the failure to implement the new national minimum wage.
With this development, teaching and learning activities are expected to resume fully across public primary schools in the FCT, even as the Union urged authorities to honour their commitments to avoid a recurrence.
Reporting by Gladys Haruna