FCT: LG workers threaten to down tools amid Pry School teachers’ strike

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has threatened to embark on strike over failure of the six area council chairmen to implement staff 40 percent peculiar allowances on CONPSS salary scale with effect from January, 2023.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the emergency State Executive Council (SEC) meeting at the union state secretariat in Gwagwalada, on Friday, President of NULGE in FCT, Comrade Abdullahi Kabbi, said the decision was arrived at the meeting after several fruitless efforts by the union to ensure that the chairmen implement and pay backlogs of its members.

He also said the six area council chairmen failed to implement the 25% CONHESS/CONMESS salary adjustment, effective from June 2023.

He added that the council chairmen has failed to pay the ₦35,000 Federal Government Palliative Wage Award for FCT area councils unified staff, which he said was effective from July 2023 and also 35% as well as 25% salary adjustment effective from January 2024.

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According to him, the six area council chairmen also failed to remit pension deductions of its members to
pension fund administrators.

Kabbi said despite the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike had fulfilled his promise of paying 40% within the agreed 3-month period, the six area council chairmen tampered with the funds, claiming that the money is part of their 10% Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

“The six area council chairmen have refused to offset the backlog of arrears owed to staff, as contained in the ministerial ad-hoc committee report set up in September 2023 by the Honorable Minister of FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, as captured in the agreed template before the suspension of the strike in January 2024,” he said.

Kabbi, said it was on the premise that the union issued a seven-day ultimatum as from October 7th to 15, 2024, to the chairmen to pay the allowances and other entitlements or risk the shut down of the six area council secretariats.

The union also called on Wike to investigate the council chairmen over their non-compliance to its members 60% contribution, despite the improved monthly allocations to the councils.

The FCT ALGON chairman, who is also the chairman of Kwali area council, Danladi Chiya, did not respond to calls put across to him, including a text message to his phone on the development.