By Sadiq Abubakar, Abuja.
FCT minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, has appealed to the FCT wing of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) to call off the ongoing strike by the Local Education Authority (LEA) primary schools in the territory.
Our correspondent had reported that the FCT NUT had directed secondary school teachers to resume classes on Thursday, while primary school teachers across the FCT were directed to continue with the strike after five days warning strike over non payment of its members promotion arrears elapsed on Wednesday.
Bello, who made the appeal during security committee meeting in Abuja, yesterday, also urged members of the FCT security committee to also persify the NUT to call off the strike, saying the continuous industrial action may only played into the hands of some elements determined to cripple the country.
“The bedrock of our education is the primary school system and we should not allow students to suffer for issues that really are not their fault, as my appeal to the teachers is this, no society can develop without education,” he said.
Bello, further urged administrators at the area councils, religious and traditional leaders to also dialogue with the teachers.
The minister, while commenting on security issues, expressed appreciation to the heads of security agencies in the FCT for the improvements in the security situation of the FCT over the last few weeks.
He said a number of incidents including kidnapping were averted with the cooperation of security operatives and support of the citizenry.
Speaking on behalf of the six area councils chairmen, Chairman of Gwagwalada area council, Alhaji Adamu Mustapha, who is also the ALGON chairman in FCT, assured that the area councils will continue to play its complementary roles in maintaining security across the FCT.
He also appealed to the striking teachers to call off the strike, saying continuation of the strike will have a negative consequences on the territory.
On his part, the FCT commissioner of police, CP Babaji Sunday, urged residents of the FCT to be security conscious, especially in the ember months, assuring them of adequate security throughout the end of year festivities.
