The agitation over the non-implementation of the N70,000 national minimum wage for teachers and workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils—Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Kuje, Bwari, Abaji, Gwagwalada, and Kwali—has persisted since 2019, escalating with strikes and protests into 2025, as reported by The Nation, Daily Trust, Vanguard, and Leadership. The crisis, rooted in unpaid salary arrears, promotion arrears, and minimum wage arrears, has led to repeated industrial actions by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), with a significant protest on April 24, 2025, shutting down the FCTA Secretariat in Abuja, per The Nation and Per Second News.
Background and Timeline of the Crisis
In 2019, the Muhammadu Buhari administration approved minimum wage arrears, but implementation lagged, sparking a teachers’ strike in October 2020, per The Nation. In January 2022, then-FCT Minister Muhammad Bello intervened to halt a strike over similar issues, per The Nation. By January 2023, Kuje’s NUT branch struck, demanding payments for 2018-recruited teachers, 2022 reabsorbed teachers, and an agreed arrears template, per The Nation. In January 2024, another strike erupted over unpaid 2019 minimum wage arrears, promotion arrears, and other entitlements, with teachers agitating for 18 months prior, per The Nation and P.M. News. A September 2024 ultimatum by NUT demanded the remaining 60% of 25 months’ 2019 minimum wage arrears, followed by a strike disrupting second-term exams, per Premium Times.
On May 29, 2024, President Bola Tinubu signed the N70,000 national minimum wage into law, but FCT Area Council teachers and workers reported non-compliance by the six Area Council chairmen, per Authorityngr. A strike resumed in March 2025, intensified by a December 2024 NLC directive for indefinite action across FCT’s six councils, per Sahara Reporters and Businessday NG. On April 24, 2025, thousands protested at the FCTA Secretariat, blocking entry with placards reading “Is it wrong to teach in primary school?” and demanding to meet FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, per Naija News and Daily Trust.
Allegations of Fund Diversion
Workers accused Area Council chairmen of diverting N4.1 billion approved by Wike in April 2025 for minimum wage and arrears payments, per Daily Trust and Authorityngr. NUT FCT Chairman Abdullahi Shafa stated, “The minister intervened and gave N4.1 billion to the six area councils to go and implement the agreement. They ran away with the money, saying the money is meant for projects and that the money is ecological fund,” per The Nation. Shafa noted failed promises from January and February 2025, prompting the April protest, per The Nation and New National Star. The unions demanded direct payments to Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to bypass chairmen, per Daily Trust. Kwali Area Council Chairman Danladi Chiya, also FCT ALGON chairman, did not respond to inquiries, per Authorityngr.
Impact on Education and Healthcare
The strike has crippled public primary schools, preventing third-term resumption in April 2025, with schools locked since second-term exams, per The Nation and Naija News. Parents, like Moses John in Gwagwalada, lamented children’s loss of focus and added costs, stating, “The people in government are not feeling it because their own children are not in public schools,” per The Nation. In healthcare, NANNM-FCT Chairman Jama Medan highlighted the closure of over 270 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) for over a month, exacerbating Nigeria’s high maternal and child mortality rates, per Per Second News and Blueprint. Medan noted, “We have fewer than 130 nurses and midwives currently managing these facilities,” warning of potential polio vaccination campaign disruptions, per Naija News.
Wike’s Response and Ongoing Efforts
Wike, frustrated by the chairmen’s inaction, summoned them for an urgent meeting on April 24, 2025, condemning their “lack of conscience” and threatening action, per Premium Times and Voice of Nigeria. He stated, “I don’t know why people don’t have conscience that these are teachers who take care of our children, and you are happy that you are not paying them their salaries,” per The Nation. Wike had previously intervened, resolving a 2023 strike by covering 40% of arrears, with councils tasked for 60%, per P.M. News and Daily Nigerian. On April 24, Mandate Secretary Hayyo Danlami assured protesters their demands would reach Wike, per Blueprint. A National Assembly joint committee on FCT Area Councils met with chairmen, union leaders, and treasurers on April 29, 2025, to resolve the crisis, though details remain undisclosed, per The Nation.
Union Demands and Stance
Beyond the N70,000 minimum wage, unions demand a N30,000 wage award, 25-35% salary adjustments, 40% peculiar allowance, 35% CONHESS/CONMESS adjustments, and pension remittance, per Authorityngr. NULGE FCT President Abdullahi Kabi vowed no strike suspension until demands are met, per The Nation. The NLC, supporting the protest, issued a seven-day ultimatum for compliance, threatening to paralyze Abuja, per Naija247news. X posts, like @DailyPostNGR’s on April 24, 2025, highlighted the NLC’s secretariat shutdown, reflecting public frustration, per *post:6⁊.
Parental and Public Sentiment
Parents across Kuje, Gwagwalada, Abaji, and Kwali urged resolution, citing educational disruption. Abiodun Oba in Kwali pleaded, “The Federal Government must meet the demands of the union to save the future of our children,” per The Nation. X user @winexviv on March 16, 2025, noted teachers’ struggles with unpaid February salaries, contrasting with leaders’ children in well-funded schools abroad, per *post:5⁊. The crisis, with 20 states still non-compliant with the minimum wage, underscores systemic challenges amid 34.8% inflation, per Leadership.
Despite Wike’s interventions, the chairmen’s alleged fund diversion and boycott of dialogues have prolonged the crisis, leaving education and healthcare in FCT’s Area Councils in disarray, per The Nation and Per Second News.
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