Following the government’s inability to meet several of its requests, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Akwa Ibom State section has called an indefinite strike.
The strike began at 12 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15th.
The NUT, in a statement signed by the union’s Senior State Secretary, Comrade Victor O. Amirize, ordered all primary and secondary school teachers in public schools to take part in the strike.
According to the Amirize, the resolution was taken after all avenues for negotiation and amicable resolutions failed on the part of the state government.
He added that the government could not address the demands of the teachers after 21 working days and the subsequent seven-day ultimatum given by the union to government.
The union further stated that the government’s promise to pay one-year leave grant on compassionate grounds and make complete payment of one-month minimum wage arrears to primary school teachers was also not be actualized.
In addition, they are requesting that the Akwa Ibom State government Teachers Amnesty programme should be re-opened to cover the teachers that were cut off during the last amnesty programme, the promotion result of teachers who attended the last promotion exercise in 2020 should be released without recourse to pass in the administrative professional officer compulsory examination (APOCE) as this was not a requirement at the point of the interview.
The union, however, appealed to both parents, pupils, students and the general public for understanding, stating that the government’s insensitivity to the teachers’ plight has pushed them to this point.
