- Say “classic failure of governance”
- NLC to shutdown FCT after projects’ commissioning
By Sarah NEGEDU
Senior citizens in the Federal Capital Territory have raised concerns over the continued shutdown of public primary schools and healthcare centres in the FCT, describing it as a governance failure with devastating consequences for residents.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, the Federal Capital Territory Senior Citizens Forum called on the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and the six area council chairmen to urgently end the three-month strike that has paralyzed essential services across the territory.
The forum’s coordinator, Elder Danjuma Dara, said, “The simultaneous collapse of our primary schools and healthcare centres represents a double tragedy for our society.
“While our children roam the streets instead of classrooms, our sick and vulnerable are being denied basic medical care. This is not the Abuja we envisioned.”
The strike, now in its 14th week, stems from the area councils’ failure to implement the N70,000 national minimum wage and clear salary arrears dating back to 2023 for teachers and primary healthcare workers.
Elder Dara urged Wike to deploy his political will to resolve the crisis, noting that “the Honourable Minister must rise to this occasion. We know his reputation as a man of action. Now is the time to rescue our education and health sectors.”
The Forum proposed several interventions, including the immediate reconvening of the tripartite committee, direct deductions from council allocations to pay workers, and the creation of a special intervention fund to support Area Council employees.
“We are witnessing a complete breakdown of two critical pillars of our society. Sick residents, including pregnant women and the elderly, are being turned away from clinics. This is unacceptable in Nigeria’s capital.”
He added that over 609 primary schools and 234 health centres across the FCT remain shuttered, warning that continued inaction could cost more lives and futures.
“The council chairmen must stop playing politics with people’s welfare. The minister has both the moral authority and constitutional power to compel compliance,” Dara said.
The group also demanded immediate implementation of the minimum wage, clearance of all arrears, and direct payment to workers from council allocations if chairmen refuse to comply.
“We know the funds exist. Just last month, the councils received increased allocations. Why are workers still suffering? The minister should withhold funds from non-compliant councils and pay workers directly,” he said.
The Forum called for an emergency tripartite meeting between the FCTA, Area Council Chairmen, and labour unions to bring an end to what it described as an avoidable humanitarian crisis.
“We cannot afford another week of this paralysis. The minister must act now before we lose more lives and futures to government negligence,” Dara warned.
In a related development, the FCT chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, says it is concluded plans to shut down the territory after President Bola Tinubu concludes his projects’ inauguration on July 3.
The chairman, Dr Stephen Knabayi, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NLC) in Abuja on Thursday.
Knabayi explained that the move was to draw the attention of the FCT Administration to address the area council workers’ lingering strike.
The primary school teachers and other area council workers had embarked on a series of strikes over non-payment of minimum wage and 40 per cent peculiar allowance.
Other unresolved issues included the non-implementation of 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increases, and the N35,000 wage award, among other benefits.
The NLC chair, who described the development as “very unfortunate,” said that the area council chairmen left the union with no option but to shut down the FCT.
He recalled that the union had on June 13, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the FCT Administration to address the demands of the teachers, health workers and other area council workers.
He explained that the ultimatum followed the resolution of the executives of the joint unions of the NUT, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees and the National Association of Health Workers Union.
He noted that the ultimatum had expired on June 20 and the NLC was yet to take any action.
Knabayi explained that the union backpedalled to allow President Tinubu to complete the inauguration of projects executed by the FCT Administration, as part of activities to celebrate his second year in office.
“We had to extend the ultimatum because of Tinubu’s movements to inaugurate the FCT executed project.
“Members of the union will take over the streets of Abuja as soon as Tinubu concludes the inaugurations, hopefully on July 3.
“We are waiting for it to end and we will come together to step up our planned action,” he said.
He added that the NLC had already informed the FCT Administration and security agencies of the planned protest to shut down the territory as the last resort to press home their demands.
