The entrance gate to the office of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike was shut down on Thursday by protesting Primary school teachers and Area Council workers who are demanding payment of their outstanding salary arrears and the implementation of the newly approved national Minimum wage to public servants in the Area Councils.
The protesters numbering over a hundred accused the FCT administration and Council authorities of insincerity, alleging that despite reaching agreements repeatedly with the government, they are yet to be paid their entitlements.
The protesters also alleged that the intervention of the FCT Minister has not yielded the desired results as the Area Council Chairmen have refused to either pay the approved Minimum wage or the outstanding arrears of teachers, despite the huge sums running into billions of Naira released by the FCT Minister to the Council authorities.
The dispute between the FCT authorities and teachers in the territory has taken its toll on Primary education in the nation’s capital territory.
The primary health care sector has also suffered neglect from the FCT authorities as the protesters claim that maternal and child mortality is on the rise in the FCT, as primary health care centres remain under lock and key for over a month, and those that are operational remain under staffed and under funded, with lack of equipment to meet the health needs of rural dwellers.
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They accused the Chairmen of the Area Councils of diverting monies paid to them by the FCT Administration to sort out payment of the new Minimum wage and other outstanding entitlements, calling on the anti graft agencies to investingate the Area Council chairmen.
After long hours of waiting, the protesters eventually submitted documents containing their demands, threating to continue the protest until the government takes concrete action to address their concerns.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
