The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Knabayi Adalo, have traded accusations over the ongoing teachers’ strike, with the minister alleging political interference and the union insisting that unresolved welfare issues necessitated the industrial action.
Wike, who spoke during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday after a closed-door meeting with Area Council chairmen and security operatives, described the strike as an attempt to undermine his administration and warned that workers who stayed away from their duties would face the no-work, no-pay policy.
The industrial action began on Wednesday, October 7, following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued by the NLC over disputes involving teachers’ promotions, redeployment and other welfare concerns.
The union is demanding the removal of vacancy requirements for teachers’ promotions, a review of the exclusion of eligible teachers from the 2025 promotion examination and the withdrawal of redeployment and demotion letters issued to education directors covered by the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
It is also seeking the reinstatement of the dissolved management teams of the FCT Universal Basic Education Board and the Secondary Education Board.
The NLC had directed workers in both public and private institutions to withdraw their services until further notice.
However, Wike maintained that the administration had addressed the issues raised by organised labour and questioned the justification for the strike.
“We want to state categorically and let it be known to the public that this so-called strike declaration is political, and we will not accept it. We will not accept it because there’s no basis for anybody to call for a strike,” the minister said.
He insisted that the FCT Administration had no outstanding disputes with workers under the Area Council local education authorities or secondary schools.
Wike subsequently announced the immediate enforcement of the no-work, no-pay policy across the Area Councils, arguing that the industrial action was declared without adequate consultation with relevant stakeholders.
The minister also accused Adalo of using the dispute to advance political interests, alleging that the union leader was seeking to portray the FCT Administration as incapable of keeping schools operational.
Wike claimed that Adalo was a candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the last Area Council elections and suggested that the strike was intended to create dissatisfaction with the administration.
“You can see his interest trying to see that FCT is in crisis, and then wants to use it as a political tool that FCT teachers are at home, and nobody is teaching students; how can you now come and vote for a government when the pupils are at home?” he said.
The minister added that labour leaders who wished to engage in partisan politics should relinquish their union positions to avoid compromising the interests of workers.
“If you want to involve yourself in politics, you are free to, but then excuse yourself from the leadership of the union, so you don’t politicise it,” Wike said.
He also argued that the decision by some education unions to distance themselves from the strike showed that the industrial action was unnecessary, maintaining that his administration was implementing agreements reached with workers.
The strike has, however, exposed divisions within organised labour in the FCT, as the Trade Union Congress and the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools have directed their members to resume work.
The TUC, in a statement issued on Friday by its FCT Council Secretary, Sunday Joseph, said it was not consulted before the NLC announced the strike and had neither participated in the meeting that produced the directive nor endorsed the action.
The congress instructed its affiliate unions and members to disregard the NLC’s directive and report to their duty posts, arguing that disputes affecting workers and students should be resolved through dialogue and established industrial relations procedures.
Similarly, the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools had described the strike as premature and potentially detrimental to students’ academic progress, directing its members and education officers to return to work.
Adalo, however, rejected Wike’s allegation that the strike was politically motivated, insisting that it was prompted by unresolved grievances affecting teachers across the FCT.
The NLC chairman said some eligible teachers had experienced prolonged delays in promotion, while redeployment decisions had also adversely affected workers.
He challenged the minister to examine the union’s records rather than dismiss its demands as politically driven.
“We can tell you how many people on the ground have not been promoted, who are eligible teachers and who have been stagnated for many years,” Adalo said.
“We can tell you in figures what we have. We can tell you how redeployment has affected the teachers. Why is he trying to see it as politics?” he queried.
The labour leader also challenged the FCT Administration to disclose the number of promotion vacancies available to teachers across different grade levels, arguing that the union’s demands were based on specific workplace grievances.
“We expect him to speak differently over this issue. Let him tell you how many vacancies he has declared for teachers on Grade Levels 13, 14, 15 and 16. We know what we are talking about,” he said.
Adalo maintained that the union remained open to negotiations but insisted that the strike would not be suspended without a satisfactory resolution of the outstanding demands.
