By Promise Dera
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, is set to meet with key stakeholders on Thursday to finalize plans for reopening public primary schools in the FCT.
The meeting will bring together chairmen of FCT area councils, leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS).
NANS had planned to stage a mass protest at the FCTA Secretariat but called it off after a series of high-level meetings. NANS leadership met with officials at the Department of State Services (DSS) Headquarters and the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT, Muktar Betara, to discuss the ongoing industrial action by NUT.
A third meeting was held with Minister Wike on Tuesday, where he explained the efforts made by the FCTA to address the issues at hand.
The meeting aims to finalize modalities for the reopening of all public primary schools in the FCT, addressing concerns raised by teachers and students.
鈥淭hat the FCT remains the only unit of the federation operating full local government autonomy; hence, all salary payments, including that of primary school teachers, are the sole responsibility of the area councils.
鈥淭he FCT Administration is not directly responsible for the backlog of teachers鈥 salaries and therefore should not be held solely accountable for the inadequacies of the area councils.
鈥淚n a show of responsibility and commitment to resolving the crisis, Wike intervened by proposing a bailout鈥攚ith FCTA offering to pay 60 per cent of the outstanding arrears while the area councils cover the remaining 40 per cent.
鈥淲hen it became clear that this arrangement was not yielding desired results, the FCT minister withheld the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the area councils for the months of May and June, with a plan to utilise these funds to make up the 40 per cent requested of area council to clear the outstanding arrears owed to teachers.
鈥淭hat based on this intervention, it was expected that the two-month arrears withheld be ready before the end of the week,鈥 it said.
The association said that based on the productive engagements and emerging progress, it hereby suspends the planned protest while keeping close tabs on the implementation of all resolutions reached.
鈥淲e reaffirm our commitment to defending the rights of Nigerian students and ensuring that no child is denied access to education due to governmental lapses,鈥 he said. (NAN)
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