The leadership of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has threatened to declare indefinite strike action in all states owing teachers backlog of salaries.
Speaking at the 2018 Solemn Assembly of the union on Thursday in Abuja, NUT National President, Comrade Michael Olukoya lamented many states governments were owing teachers for several months.
He said the strike would be announced after gathering situation report from the states.
The Solemn Assembly is held annually to kick-start NUT’s activities in the New Year and was observed with prayer sessions to seek the hand of God to end incessant killings and maiming across the country.
Prayers were also held for the nation’s economic recovery, political stability, religious tolerance improvement in the security of lives and property across the nation.
Olukoya was bitter about the attitude of some of the state governments to the welfare of teachers, urged those owing teachers to pay them promptly or have their schools shutdown.
He gave the names of the states owing teachers salary as: Benue (12 months), Nasarawa (26 months half salaries), Taraba (6 months), Ondo (4 months), Kwara (2 months), Abia (5 months primary, secondary 7 months), Ekiti (9 months primary, 5 months secondary), Kaduna (5 months primary, 5 months secondary), Delta (5 months primary, 5 months secondary), Osun (primary and secondary, 28 months), Oyo (1 month) and Bayelsa (7 months primary, 3 months secondary).
He also condemned the sacking of over 21,000 primary school teachers in Kaduna State on account of the “spurious claim that the teachers could not score up to 75 percentage in a competency test that was conducted by the state government without recourse to the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.”
He said: “We are dismayed over this show of impunity and lack of respect for the rule of law.”
He called on the Kaduna State government to rescind its decision.
The NUT boss also said that there was the need to review the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65 years.
He also opposed the transfer of the funding and management of primary education to Local Government Councils in the name of granting autonomy to the councils.
The union further condemned the hardship being experienced by retired teachers in some states where they were glaringly denied their pension and gratuity for years after rendering meritorious service to the nation.
It, however, commended the state governments that have regularly paid salaries and allowances of teachers to continue in their good works