FCT UBE blames council areas for teachers’ strike as NUT shuts down primary schools in Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory Universal Basic Education (FCT UBE) has said they are not owing FCT teachers’ salaries to warrant them to embark on indefinite strike.

According to the education board, the area council chairmen should be blamed for the primary schools’ teachers strike.

Dr. Alhassan Sule, Executive Chairman, FCT UBE Board who made this known in a press briefing in respect to the primary schools strike which resumed on Wednesday said they were surprised to receive a letter from the NUT secretariat.
He said the FCT administration has been doing its best for teachers.

He said in December, all teachers that are under the payroll of the FCT administration were paid.

Sule further explained that at the local government level, they were able to implement promotions, but the issue of arrears became a problem.

“I could remember that in December NUT and the local government had an agreement to suspend their strike based on the agreement that they are going to have a round table to discuss the template on how they are going to implement the arrears.

“I believe that what the area council did by not inviting the NUT to a round table discussion is one of the reasons that they decided to go back to strike.

“They are not talking of the arrears now, but that they should come together and get a workable template on how they are going to decrease all the outstanding arrears date back to 2015, 2016 till date in the local government arrears,” he said.

“They have paid all promotion arrears as far as FCT education is concerned. But that of local government has to do with friction between the LEA secretaries and their chairmen when it has to do with the employment of teachers,” he added.

FCT NUT chairman, Comrade Stephen Knabayi, while speaking during the briefing, also explained that as far as NUT was concerned, the payment of teachers’ salaries in LEA schools, FCT has been prompt and regular.
“We do not have any issue with that as far as NUT is concerned.

“We have been part of the meeting and members of JAAC where allocations come from the federation account and shared accordingly, where the issue of teachers salaries is made a frontline charge. Also, there is never a time when salaries are held by the six area councils.

“But presently, we have directed that schools should be shut down in the six area councils with effect from today Wednesday. That has to do with the outstanding arrears and the none payment of the arrears of the new national minimum wage, and some months of annual increment in some LEAs,” he said.