Strike: FCTA not responsible for paying primary school teachers – Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said that paying primary school teachers’ salaries is not the duty of the FCT Administration.

According to him, this responsibility belongs to the area councils.

Wike made this statement on Thursday during a media meeting in Abuja. His comment comes as primary school teachers in the FCT continue their strike over unpaid salaries.

He explained that although it is not the FCT Administration’s responsibility, his team has stepped in to help many times. However, he said some teachers were being unrealistic in their demands.

“It is not our responsibility to pay teachers’ salaries but that of the area councils. Several times, we have stepped in to help. We are talking about local government autonomy. The last time we intervened, we paid about 60 percent.

“Have you heard of any secondary school teachers on strike? Have you heard that we don’t pay workers their salaries?

“When you fix minimum wage for everyone without checking if the area councils can afford it, you create problems. You should have allowed them to negotiate based on what they can pay. But it has happened already.

We don’t have an Assembly apart from the House of Reps and the Senate,” he said.

Wike also complained about the high wage bill his administration is facing compared to the number of workers.

Primary school teachers in the FCT have been on strike for months, which has led to protests.