The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe at the National Assembly, accusing its committees on FCT Area Councils and Ancillary Matters of failing to intervene in the prolonged strike by primary school teachers in the nation’s capital.
Wike said this on Thursday during an inspection tour of ongoing projects in Abuja.
The strike, which has kept pupils out of school for months, has drawn public outcry, with the minister likening the denial of education to an act of sabotage.
When questioned if the area council chairmen were “too powerful to be called to order,” Wike dismissed the notion but stressed the severity of the situation.
“I do not know what you mean by too powerful. All I would say is they were elected and not appointed.
“But one thing you must know is that denying people education is like trying to say you are causing a coup in the country or in FCT. Be assured that everything is being done to see that the teachers go back,” he said.
The minister, however, criticised the National Assembly committees overseeing the FCT Area Councils, for focusing on “irrelevant” matters rather than resolving the crisis.
“But you see, the problem we have, we have committees of the FCT, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. We have chairman of the area councils.
“The chairman of committees of area councils, their responsibility is to oversee what the area councils are doing because the legislature of the FCT today is the National Assembly.
“That is what the chairman of House Committee of the National Assembly has to look at the problem in the area councils. But it’s unfortunate they concentrate on just inviting ministers to come and defend,” he said.
Wike expressed disappointment that after a minister has defended a budget, another House Committee chairman of area councils will tell the minister of state to present the budget.
“People don’t do what they’re supposed to do. They concentrate on things that do not fall within their jurisdiction.”
By now, I thought that the chairman of the FCT area councils would have come up to say, chairmen of area councils, this is not right.
“What do we need to solve this problem? But they will focus on irrelevant things, trying to see how there’s division, there’s discord in the FCT,” he said.
Despite his frustration with the legislative committees and the elected chairmen, Wike offered assurance that a resolution is imminent, emphasising the fundamental importance of education.
“We have said, those things would not work. But go home and sleep very well. Very soon, this problem should be sorted out, regarding the primary school teachers, because nobody can feel happy when the teachers are at home.
“It is the basic thing that we must do and I can assure you very soon that the matter will be resolved,” he said.
The strike, which stems from unpaid entitlements and poor working conditions, has left thousands of pupils stranded.
While the FCT Administration has engaged in negotiations with the teachers’ union, the involvement of the Area Councils, which oversee primary education, has been a sticking point.
