By Sarah NEGEDU
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, is not backing down on his threat to withhold 10 percent of statutory allocations to the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory as a punitive measure over their failure to resolve the prolonged strike by primary school teachers.
Recall that the minister had issued a similar warning in September 2024, threatening to seize the councils’ share of Internally Generated Revenue unless they addressed the demands of striking teachers.
However, eight months later, with intermittent strike actions, Wike on Monday reaffirmed the move, insisting that the has become necessary to safeguard the educational future of children in the FCT.
Wike, at a media chat in Abuja, expressed his disappointment over the situation, stating that it was unfortunate that the primary school teachers had to resort to strike action to press for their entitlement.
The minister lamented that despite his intervention at the onset of the strike where he directed the release of funds to facilitate the payment of the new minimum wage, the council chairmen failed to carry out his directive, the continued strike as “embarrassing.”
“I have limits; I cannot sack them because they are elected. Therefore, I have taken the step to withhold 10 percent of their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR,” he declared.
To bypass what he described as council negligence, the minister announced plans to set up a committee that will ensure the direct payment of teachers from the withheld allocations.
Addressing concerns about contravening the autonomy of Local Government Areas, the Minister firmly stated, “Do you want me to fold arms and allow our children to be at home because you want LGA autonomy? I have withheld 10 percent of their allocation to ensure that they do what is right.
“You see now, you see the problem that we have now? We are talking about autonomy now. The money has been released to you as allowed, yet you are depriving people of their wages, and then you want me to fold my arms and allow our children to be at home because you want to have local government autonomy? No!” the Minister declared.
Speaking on the welfare of FCTA staff, the minister affirmed that workers in the FCT were being paid promptly and adequately motivated. However, he stated his refusal to approve funding for non-essential overseas training, even if budgeted, and indicated his intention to request the National Assembly to reallocate such funds to more critical needs.
On streetlights, the minister disclosed that enhanced security measures, including CCTV cameras with security features, have been put in place to combat vandalism of streetlights and ensure the arrest of perpetrators. He added that the administration was undertaking additional procurement processes to ensure the provision of streetlights for road projects that were initially awarded without them.
