Abuja, Nigeria – May 4, 2025
Indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to the Minister of the FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, to urgently intervene in the ongoing primary school teachers’ strike, which has crippled learning in public schools across the territory since December 2024.
The strike, which has persisted despite government funding interventions, resurfaced in February 2025 and has continued into May, leaving thousands of pupils out of school in Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abaji, Bwari, Kwali, and AMAC area councils.
Speaking on Friday under the umbrella of the FCT Stakeholders Assembly, the group described the situation as alarming, warning that the prolonged industrial action threatens the future of the next generation.
“We urge the Honourable Minister to wade into the matter and bring an end to the teachers’ strike. The future of our children must not be jeopardised,” said Aliyu Daniel, President of the Assembly.
Daniel, while addressing journalists after their meeting, commended Wike for what he called his unmatched achievements in the FCT, such as the ₦50 billion potable water project for satellite towns and multiple infrastructure projects.
“No previous minister has come close to this level of commitment. Indigenous people have never had it so good until this administration,” he added.
The Assembly also referenced last Thursday’s protest by teachers and other local government workers, who blocked the FCT Minister’s office in Area 11, Abuja, to press home their demands.
Though the National Assembly has intervened and Minister Wike confirmed during Workers’ Day celebrations that ₦4.1 billion had been disbursed to the area council chairmen to settle outstanding salaries, the strike has not yet been called off.
The Stakeholders Assembly urged the Minister to personally ensure compliance and resolution, warning that continued disruption in education would widen inequality and hurt rural communities the most.
They also used the opportunity to call for stronger unity among indigenous FCT residents, both at home and in the diaspora, in the ongoing push for political development and eventual statehood for the Federal Capital Territory.
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