On Thursday, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) leadership, and the chairmen of the FCT area councils will meet with Mr. Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
At the meeting, the procedures for the reopening of all public elementary schools in the Federal Capital Territory will be finalized.
NANS National Public Relations Officer Adeyemi Ajasa and National President Olushola Oladoja signed the statement.
The group clarified that it had previously decided to hold a large-scale demonstration at the Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Wednesday morning.
In the sake of national security and the welfare of students, it further stated that its leadership was called to a high-level meeting at the Department of State Services (DSS) Headquarters, where the pertinent concerns were extensively discussed.
It stated that a second strategic discussion with Muktar Betara, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT, was made possible by the initial meeting at the DSS.
According to NANS, the interaction exposed the underlying reasons for both the Wike-led FCTA’s initial efforts and the ongoing NUT industrial action.
“That 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.
“The FCT Administration is not directly responsible for the backlog of teachers’ salaries and therefore should not be held solely accountable for the inadequacies of the area councils.
“In a show of responsibility and commitment to resolving the crisis, Wike intervened by proposing a bailout, with FCTA offering to pay 60 per cent of the outstanding arrears while the area councils cover the remaining 40 per cent.
“When 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 utilize these funds to make up the 40 per cent requested of area councils to clear the outstanding arrears owed to teachers.
It stated that the two-month arrears withheld were anticipated to be available by the end of the week, depending on this intervention.
The group stated that it suspends the scheduled protest while closely monitoring the implementation of the resolutions made, based on the fruitful engagements and growing progress.
“We reaffirm our commitment to protecting Nigerian students’ rights and making sure that no child is denied an education because of government failures,” the statement read.
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