NANS suspends planned protest as Wike moves to end teachers’ strike

By Ukpono Ukpong

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called off its planned mass protest over the prolonged closure of public primary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following decisive intervention by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.

The move comes after a series of high-level engagements aimed at addressing the industrial action by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), which has kept thousands of pupils out of school for months.

According to a statement signed by NANS President, Comrade Olushola Oladoja, the decision to suspend the protest followed productive discussions with key stakeholders, including the Department of State Services (DSS), the House Committee on FCT, and the FCT Minister.

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Oladoja said that the DSS engagement paved the way for further talks with the Chairman, House Committee on FCT, Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, who hosted the student body for an exhaustive dialogue.

According to NANS, this second meeting helped uncover the root causes of the strike and revealed steps already taken by the FCT Administration under the leadership of Minister Nyesom Wike to address the matter.

Speaking further, he said that the talks laid the groundwork for a third and final engagement with the Minister himself and the NANS national leadership.

He explanned that during the session with the FCT Minister, it was clarified that the FCT is the only unit in the country operating full local government autonomy, and as such, the responsibility of paying teachers’ salaries lies solely with the Area Councils.

Despite this, the Minister was said to have taken bold steps by proposing a bailout. However, when the arrangement failed to produce the expected outcome, the Minister withheld the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the Area Councils for May and June.

“A third meeting involving the Minister of the FCT and the NANS National Leadership was convened, where the following facts and resolutions were established after intensive drilling, arguments, and counter arguments:

“The FCT remains the only unit of the federation operating full local government autonomy. Hence, all salary payments, including that of primary school teachers, are the sole responsibility of the Area Councils.

“The FCT Administration is not directly responsible for the backlog of teachers’ salaries and, therefore, should not be held solely accountable for the inadequacies of the Area Councils.

“In a show of responsibility and commitment to resolving the crisis, the Minister of the FCT intervened by proposing a bailout, with FCTA offering to pay 60% of the outstanding arrears while the Area Councils cover the remaining 40%.

“When it became clear that this arrangement was not yielding desired results, the FCT Minister withheld the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the Area Councils for the months of May and June, with a plan to utilize these funds to make up the 40% requested of area council to clear the outstanding arrears owed to teachers.

“Based on this intervention, it is expected that the two-month arrears withheld be ready before the end of the week.” NANS stated

To seal the progress made so far, a joint meeting involving NUT FCT, the FCT Minister, Area Council Chairmen, and the NANS leadership has been scheduled for Thursday, July 4, 2025. The meeting is expected to finalize modalities for the immediate reopening of public primary schools across the territory.

“In light of these productive engagements and emerging progress, the National Leadership of NANS hereby suspends the planned protest while keeping close tabs on the implementation of all resolutions reached,” Comrade Oladoja said

He further commended the National Assembly leadership, particularly Hon. Betara, the security agencies, and all NANS structures for their swift intervention.

“We reaffirm our commitment to defending the rights of Nigerian students and ensuring that no child is denied access to education due to governmental lapses,” the statement reads.