Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has dismissed the ongoing strike by the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) as politically motivated, directing area council chairmen to enforce a no-work-no-pay policy against participating workers.
Wike made the declaration on Friday after meeting with chairmen of the six area councils in Abuja, warning that unapproved absences would attract sanctions.
“We have directed the chairmen of the area councils to call their teachers and state clearly: if anybody participates in this, we will implement no-work, no-pay. Enough is enough; we cannot continue with this,” he said.
The minister rejected the rationale behind the industrial action, insisting that all legitimate demands raised by the union, including promotions and operational matters, had been substantially resolved or were being actively implemented.
“This so-called strike declaration is political, and we will not accept it. There is no basis for anybody to call for a strike. We don’t have any issue with the Local Education Authorities or primary schools. Everything we have agreed on, we are implementing,” Wike said.
He added that secondary school teachers and other key union segments had distanced themselves from the strike, indicating recognition that their demands were already being addressed.
Wike went further to question the political neutrality of the local NLC leadership, alleging that the union chairperson was a former candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the February FCT area council elections.
“You can see his interest. He is trying to ensure the FCT is in crisis as a political tool, telling voters that pupils are at home. We will not accept that blackmail,” he said, adding that union officials who wished to participate in politics should relinquish their leadership positions.
The NLC had on Wednesday directed workers of the FCT Administration and those in the private sector to begin an indefinite strike over unresolved disputes between the FCTA and NUT.
The union’s demands include the withdrawal of the redeployment of certain directors in agencies under the FCT Education Secretariat, the rescheduling of the 2025 promotion examination, and the removal of a vacancy precondition for promotion.
