FCT Teachers Embark On Strike Over Biometric Exercise

Nigeria Union Of Teachers

Teachers in public schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under the auspices of the Nigeria Union Of Teachers (NUT), on Thursday commenced industrial action to protest the decision of the territory's administration to tag them ghost workers.

Students who went to school on Thursday, but were turned back as there were no teachers in the schools. LEADERSHIP gathered that the affected teachers were denied their salaries for the month of September, after a staff audit and biometric exercise of the administration declared them ghost workers.

Sources within the administration said some of the affected teachers could not show evidence of their academic qualities among other things during the exercise.

A statement by the FCTA yesterday however indicate that the strike had been called off following the intervention of the territory's minister, Senator Bala Mohammed. Special adviser media to the minister, Nosike Ogbuenyi, who signed the statement, said the decision to shelve the strike was reached after the minister met with the NUT executive and promised to see to it that the issue is resolved within seven days. According to the statement, the minister gave "approval for the re-screening, clearance and proposed prompt payment of the salaries of the affected teachers.

"The union shelved the industrial dispute through a communiqué issued at the end of its emergency State Wing Executive Council (SWEC) meeting held at the FCT Teachers House, Gwagwalada, Abuja which started on Wednesday October 23, 2013 and ended on Thursday morning" Ogbuenyi said in the statement."

He further attributed the strike to the inability of the union to communicate to its members that the strike had been shelved at the end of the meeting.

Efforts to get a confirmation from the union were however unsuccessful as the officials could not be reached at press time.