{"id":120119,"date":"2025-06-26T17:03:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=120119"},"modified":"2025-06-26T17:03:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:03:03","slug":"nlc-to-shut-down-fct-from-july-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/nlc-to-shut-down-fct-from-july-3\/","title":{"rendered":"NLC to shut down FCT from July 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Myke Agunwa, Abuja<\/div>\n
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As the strike embarked upon by primary school teachers, primary health, and local government workers in the Federal Capital Territory lingers, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has started mobilising its members to shut down the territory after President Bola Tinubu concludes his projects\u2019 inauguration on July 3.<\/div>\n
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The Chairman, Dr. Stephen Knabayi, who made the disclosure to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, explained that the move was to draw the attention of the FCT Administration to address workers\u2019 lingering strike.<\/div>\n
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He lamented that primary health care centres were under lock and key just as primary school teachers had been at home while the six area councils\u2019 secretariats were abandoned by the workers for months.<\/div>\n
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Knabayi said that primary school teachers and other area council workers embarked on a series of strikes over non-payment of minimum wage and a 40 percent peculiar allowance.<\/div>\n
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He said that other unresolved issues included the non-implementation of 25 percent and 35 percent salary increases and the N35,000 wage award, among other benefits.<\/div>\n
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The NLC chair, who described the development as \u201cvery unfortunate\u201d, said that the area council chairmen left the union with no option but to shut down the FCT.<\/div>\n
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He recalled that the union had on June 13, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the FCT Administration to address the demands of the teachers, health workers and other area council workers.<\/div>\n
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He explained that the ultimatum followed the resolution of the executives of the joint unions of the NUT, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees and the National Association of Health Workers Union.<\/div>\n
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He noted that the ultimatum had expired on June 20 and the NLC was yet to take any action.<\/div>\n
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Knabayi explained that the union backpedalled to allow President Bola Tinubu to complete the inauguration of projects executed by the FCT Administration, as part of activities to celebrate his second year in office.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe had to extend the ultimatum because of Tinubu\u2019s movements to inaugurate the FCT executed project.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMembers of the union will take over the streets of Abuja as soon as Tinubu concludes the inaugurations, hopefully on July 3.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe are waiting for it to end and we will come together to step up our planned action,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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He added that the NLC had already informed the FCT Administration and security agencies of the planned protest to shut down the territory as the last resort to press home their demands.<\/div>\n
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He said it was very unfortunate that up to this moment nothing has been done to address the lingering welfare cities in the area councils.<\/div>\n
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He noted that although the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage began across the six area councils in May, it was stopped the following month with no explanation to the workers.<\/div>\n
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\u201cLike you know, strike or protest is always the last option, but we were left with no other opinion.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe are not happy and it is not going to be a small thing if they don\u2019t do the needful,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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Knabayi alleged that the area council chairmen were spending huge resources in preparations for the 2016 February FCT Area Councils\u2019 Election.<\/div>\n
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According to him, the funds being expended will be enough to settle all the workers\u2019 outstanding entitlements.<\/div>\n
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He called on the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, to take a more decisive action to compel the area council chairmen to settle the council worker\u2019s welfare concerns.<\/div>\n
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Recall that popular social media critic, Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, (VDM) had earlier staged a protest at the entrance of the residence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, in Abuja with some school children over unpaid salaries of primary school teachers.<\/div>\n
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