By Prosper Okoye.
The Association for Orphans and Vulnerable Children NGOs in Nigeria (AONN), FCT Chapter, has called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to urgently intervene in the ongoing strikes by primary school teachers and primary health care workers in Abuja.
The strikes, which have been ongoing for months, have paralyzed health services across all six FCT area councils and disrupted the academic calendar for public primary school students.
Teachers under the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) resumed an indefinite strike on March 24, 2025, over the non-payment of the ₦70,000 minimum wage.
Primary health care workers under the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) have been on strike since January 11, 2024, due to unpaid arrears and allowances.
AONN FCT Coordinator, Dr. Kiema Ogunlana, commended the FCT Minister for his ongoing infrastructural initiatives but urged him to prioritize human development, particularly for children.
“It is disheartening that children in public primary schools have been out of school, while their counterparts in private schools are concluding the third term and preparing to move to the next class in September,” she said.
Dr. Ogunlana emphasized that the continued disruptions in the academic calendar negatively affect children’s educational growth and contribute to the declining quality of graduates from higher institutions.
Dr. Ogunlana also highlighted the plight of poor families who can hardly afford daily meals, now being forced to seek care in expensive private hospitals.
“This is deeply unfair,” she stressed. AONN is planning an advocacy visit to the FCT Minister, seeing him as a father figure who can take decisive steps to address these issues and ease the burden on vulnerable families.
The association also called on the striking unions to explore alternative, less disruptive means of engaging government on their demands, warning that prolonged industrial actions hurt ordinary citizens the most.
The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has been known for his commitment to infrastructural development in the FCT, including the rehabilitation and upgrade of schools.
In December 2024, he directed the immediate rehabilitation and upgrade of the Government Secondary School, Kabusa, assuring residents that the school would be upgraded to offer quality education.
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