FCT Teachers’ Strike: Centre Seeks Urgent Government Intervention

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has called for urgent government intervention to end the prolonged strike and safeguard the children’s right to education at the grassroots.

The appeal was made at a press conference in Abuja yesterday.

At the event, CITAD leam lead for the Abuja Office, Mrs Yesmin Salako Ejiwumi, saidt since 2023, cumulative school closures had resulted in the loss of at least 165 school days.

She said many children in rural FCT communities depend entirely on public schools for formal education.

School closures impede foundational literacy and numeracy, exacerbate educational inequalities, and increase the risks of child labour, early marriage, trafficking, and exploitation, she said.

The group emphasised that the education of thousands of children in the FCT is currently under serious threat.

Since 26 January 2026, public primary and secondary schools in the FCT have remained closed due to an indefinite industrial action jointly embarked upon by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Chapter, and the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

According to CITAD, this prolonged closure disproportionately affects children—particularly those in rural, peri-urban, and underserved communities—who have no meaningful educational alternatives.

Mrs Ejiwumi argued that the longer the strike continues, the deeper and more permanent the damage becomes. CITAD therefore called on the Honourable Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to immediately convene high-level, good-faith negotiations with JUAC and NUT leadership and present a clear, time-bound, and verifiable roadmap for the full settlement of outstanding entitlements.

CITAD has consistently championed equitable access to education and digital literacy, supporting communities across Nigeria to connect with the digital world and access information that strengthens learning and development opportunities. The organisation recognises education as the cornerstone of social transformation and the most effective tool for breaking cycles of poverty.

The group further acknowledged and supported the legitimate demands of teachers and FCTA workers, including the payment of outstanding wage awards and minimum wage arrears, settlement of promotion arrears, remittance of pension and National Housing Fund deductions, payment of hazard and rural allowances, and other agreed entitlements.

CITAD also called for the implementation of the 25% and 35% salary relativity adjustments, as well as the payment of the 40% peculiar allowance. These entitlements, the group noted, are not privileges but earned rights that have been repeatedly promised and delayed. While CITAD supports the right of workers to demand justice and, where necessary, withdraw services when dialogue fails, it warned that indefinite school closures inflict grave and irreversible harm on the very children teachers have dedicated their careers to educating.

The best interests of children, the group stressed, must remain paramount. Respect must be given to court orders and official interventions, and any sustainable resolution must restore dignity to teachers and learning opportunities to children.

CITAD is a leading Nigerian organisation committed to leveraging technology for social development. Through its programmes in digital inclusion, AI research, civic engagement, and capacity development, the organisation strives to empower citizens—particularly girls, women, youths, and boys—towards a just, knowledge-based society.

Education remains the most powerful instrument for social empowerment. When teachers suffer, children—especially girls, women, and vulnerable youths—suffer. When children suffer, the future of the FCT and Nigeria suffers.

CITAD remains ready to provide a neutral platform, facilitate dialogue, or offer any support needed to return teachers to classrooms and children to learning without delay. The group appealed to the conscience of every leader, union official, parent, and citizen of the FCT to end the crisis now.