4 council chairmen absent
Their absence shows they are not serious – Workers
The meeting between the FCT Minister of State, Hajiya Mariya Mahmoud, and striking workers ended without any resolution, as both sides failed to reach an agreement.
According to Abuja Metro, only the chairmen of Bwari and Abaji Area Councils attended the meeting in person, while those of Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali, and AMAC were absent, sending their vice chairmen as representatives instead.
The joint unions of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) had earlier instructed their members to embark on an indefinite strike beginning on Thursday. Following this directive, teachers in public primary schools and workers at the area council secretariats across the six councils shut down operations, demanding the immediate implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage promised to begin in January but not fulfilled.
Friday’s reconciliation meeting, presided over by Hajiya Mariya Mahmoud, ended in a stalemate, as labour leaders refused to call off the strike.
Present at the meeting were the Mandate Secretary of the Area Council Service Secretariat, the FCT DSS Director, and the chairmen of Abaji (Alhaji Abubakar Umar Abdullahi) and Bwari (John Gabaya). The other councils—Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali, and AMAC—were represented by their deputies.
A member of the NUT standing committee, who spoke anonymously, confirmed the deadlock, noting that although the minister pleaded with the unions to suspend the strike in the interest of schoolchildren, labour leaders refused, citing the council chairmen’s failure to honor the December MoU in which they had pledged to start paying the new wage in January.
He added that the absence of the council chairmen was viewed by the unions as a sign of unwillingness to implement the wage increase, further fueling their resolve to continue the strike.
“The FCT Minister of State, Hajiya Mariya Mahmoud, also expressed disappointment over the chairmen’s non-attendance, which clearly indicates they are not ready to implement the new minimum wage,” the source said.
According to him, the minister proposed that the new wage be implemented by March 2025, but the workers insisted that payment must begin this February.
The unions also demanded a public apology from Kwali Council Chairman, Danladi Chiya, for allegedly assaulting a staff member who had requested the implementation of the minimum wage.
Confirming the development, the Publicity Secretary of the FCT NUT, Comrade Ibikun Adekeye, stated that the meeting ended inconclusively and affirmed that the strike would continue until the ₦70,000 minimum wage is fully implemented.
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