FCT teachers give Wike 7 days to settle 40-month arrears, others

The FCT Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, over the non-implementation of outstanding entitlements for its members.  The demands include the 40% peculiar allowance and its 40-month arrears, as well as the implementation of the 25% and 35% salary increases and their […]

The FCT Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, over the non-implementation of outstanding entitlements for its members. 

The demands include the 40% peculiar allowance and its 40-month arrears, as well as the implementation of the 25% and 35% salary increases and their respective arrears.

Other grievances cited by the union include the non-payment of 11 months of the N35,000 wage award, the non-implementation of 2023 promotions and arrears, and the failure to apply the 2025 and 2026 annual increments.

The FCT NUT Chairman, Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Shafas, addressed newsmen late Tuesday evening following an emergency meeting of the State Wing Executive Council (SWEC) at the Teachers’ House in Gwagwalada. 

He stated that the ultimatum was triggered by the persistent failure of council chairmen and the FCT Administration to settle primary school teachers’ outstanding entitlements.

Shafas recalled that after a previous strike action was suspended, the FCT Minister had constituted a seven-member committee to harmonize all teacher entitlements within two weeks to find a permanent solution. However, despite the committee concluding its work and submitting a report in August 2025, the union claims there has been no response from the minister.

The chairman also highlighted a “disturbing” issue regarding the 2024 promotion exercise conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission.

“The result has denied a majority of FCT teachers their promotions. The union is dismayed by the introduction of ‘vacancies’ as a criteria for promoting classroom teachers, alongside other abnormalities in the conduct of the examination. This has generated widespread frustration and low morale,” Shafas said.

The union’s official statement added: “Having discussed these issues extensively and reviewed several correspondences without positive results, the SWEC-in-session resolved to issue the FCT Administration a seven-day ultimatum from Wednesday, March 11, to Thursday, March 19, 2026, to release and implement the report of the ministerial committee.”

The NUT is calling for the removal of vacancy constraints and a total review of the 2024 promotion process to allow for the unhindered advancement of all eligible teachers.

While the union acknowledged the Minister’s past intervention in implementing nine months of arrears for primary school teachers, it warned that failure to respond to these current demands would leave the union with no option but to take “alternative steps” to press home its demands.