The Chairmen of the Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called on public primary school teachers to end their ongoing strike over the N70,000 minimum wage.

Speaking on behalf of the FCT chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) on Tuesday, the Secretary of the association and Chairman of Bwari Local Coucil, John Gabaya, announced that the area councils had begun implementing the new minimum wage.

The strike, led by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), began in December 2024 and was reignited in February before continuing into March. Teachers have been protesting the failure of area council chairmen to implement the N70,000 minimum wage and address other pending benefits, significantly disrupting public primary education across the FCT.

At a press briefing, Gabaya, accompanied by ALGON Chairman and Kwali Area Council Chairman, Danladi Chiya, urged teachers to return to the negotiating table to resolve remaining issues.

“This press briefing is about the ongoing strike, primarily concerning the implementation of the new national minimum wage and related matters. Last Thursday, all six area councils commenced payment of the new N70,000 minimum wage in line with the Federal Government’s approved template for both federal councils and Local Education Authorities (LEAs),” Gabaya stated.

“We, as federal council chairmen, have complied, and the payment has been made as stated. We are here to appeal to the Nigeria Union of Teachers and NULGE to call off their strike and resume work so that we can discuss other issues, including arrears.”

Gabaya stressed that the councils’ main focus is to ensure children return to education. He noted the presence of council secretaries and stated that, as council chairmen, funds were disbursed the previous week.

Danladi Chiya, ALGON Chairman, also appealed to the teachers, urging them to consider the impact of the strike on children.

“We are asking for our children to be allowed to return to school, especially now that the minimum wage has been implemented. We are part of this community, and our concern is having children stay at home,” he said.

“There is still room for further negotiations with NULGE and NUT. We urge the teachers to please call off the strike so that our children can go back to school.”