04/02/2026
COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY!!
Good evening Abuja,
Hope you all had a pleasant day at work and home today.
It's me again, your one and only HSB aka Hon Swani Buba .
There's something that has been bugging my mind, since the unfortunate experience of the teachers strike in the FCT last year.
It was unprecedented in the Federal Capital, setting us back miles in the curriculum.
So I decided to share my concerns and hopefully we can work together for that mishap never to reoccur.
It may seem like a long piece, but I plead with you to take some time and digest this.
REMEMBER IT'S 18 DAYS TO GO!!!
MY MAJOR CONCERNS: Ending the problem of teachers’ strikes in area councils:
On July 9, 2025, teachers and pupils in primary schools in schools in the Federal Capital Territory returned to classroom. This marked the end of a three-month long strike embarked upon by the teachers and some trade unions in the area councils.
The industrial action, which started on March 4, 2025, unexpectedly became prolonged. First, many teachers felt they could no longer continue teaching when their counterparts in post-primary institutions are already receiving the new minimum wage. Efforts to get their direct employers, the area councils, to implement the government-approved rate failed. Thus, the strike began.
Unfortunately, apart from the Nigerian Union of Teachers, public servants in area councils under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, had also embarked on their separate strike. With so many battlefronts in front of them, the area councils found themselves in a very tight corner.
The area councils in the FCT have the responsibility of paying the salaries of teachers in their domain. Rather than allowing the situation to degenerate to that level, it may have augured better for area councils to negotiate with all stakeholders, ab initio, to find a solution to the crisis. Sadly, this inaction led to a situation where teachers were owed up to nine months’ salary arrears and pupils made to bear the brunt of it all.
The aggrieved teachers loudly and publicly complained about their plight and the FCT Minister Barrister Nyesom Wike took meaningful action with the release of 4.1 billion Naira to the area councils to solve the problem. However this did not happen as the released funds were not used for this purpose. It is pertinent at this point to commend the FCT Minister for taking this action.
When the problem continued, the Minister had to convey a high powered meeting on July 3, involving key stakeholders such as the House Committee on FCT, the FCT Head of Service, the FCT Permanent Secretary for Education and executives of the Nigeria Union of Teachers amongst others.
Though not directly responsible for the payment of teachers’ salaries, Barrister Nyesom Wike went on to approve the release of another 16 billion Naira to offset the salary bills. He further facilitated the set-up of a Special Committee saddled with harmonising the full backlog of arrears and proposing a permanent funding strategy withing 14 days. As a result of the Minister’s decisive steps, on July 8, 2025, the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers called of the strike, and by July 9, 2025, teachers across the six area councils had swiftly resumed work, smiling to the bank in appreciation of the efforts of the Minister.
This decisive action by the Minister eventually put an end to this ugly situation which had no doubt put the education of young Nigerians in jeopardy. Once again, Barrister Wike has demonstrated an uncanny commitment to leadership and good governance.
The protracted strike gained national attention and the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced his intention to collaborate with the FCT Administration in putting a final end to the problem of Teachers’ salaries in FCT . He has proposed to making a special representation to the National Assembly on the possibility of funding teachers’ salaries directly through a more functional State Universal Basic Education Board. This is another step in the right direction and underscores how seriously the federal government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is addressing matters regarding education.
Other remedies could also be explored including a mechanism to ensure proper management and funding of primary schools in all area councils to ensure high standards in learning outcomes, teacher quality, teacher motivation, school plants and learning assessment.
This could be done through the institutionalization of dialogue among stakeholders in the educational sector, particularly in area councils including a continuous formal channel of communication with the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and other stakeholders. This will ensure proactive engagement which will foster mutual understanding and prevents disputes from further escalating.
At this point, it will be advisable for area councils to become creative and proactive by thinking out innovative means of raising more revenue for use within their domains. They could take a cue from the FCT Minister who has institutionalized very novel and creative methods to generate unparalleled IGR.
If all the above-mentioned steps are taken, the Federal Capital Territory should be able to bring and end to incessant strikes among teachers and look forward to a brighter future of high-quality education, motivated teachers and well-trained pupils in its primary school system." HSB
