Nurses, primary school teachers, and Area Council workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stormed the office of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike on Thursday.
The aggrieved individuals are demanding the implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage and the reopening of over 270 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) that have remained shut for over a month.
The protesting workers, drawn from the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the FCT chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), marched to the FCTA secretariat to decry what they described as government neglect of their welfare and the worsening public health crisis
Chairman of NANNM-FCT, James Medan, while addressing journalists, warned that Nigeria’s already fragile health system was on the brink. He cited that the country ranks second globally in maternal and child mortality.
He also linked the crisis directly to the prolonged closure of PHCs in the FCT’s six Area Councils.
“We have fewer than 130 nurses and midwives currently managing these facilities. Women and children are dying because the centres have remained shut for over a month,” Medan said, while highlighting a shortage of healthcare workers and accusing Area Council Chairmen of inaction, despite the release of over ₦4.1bn by the FCT Minister.
According to him, the workers are demanding not just the ₦70,000 minimum wage, but also the payment of outstanding arrears, hazard, and uniform allowances owed to health professionals.
He also warned that the continued closure of PHCs was threatening a scheduled nationwide polio vaccination campaign in the FCT, which is raising fears of potential outbreaks.
In the education sector, the FCT Chairman of the NUT, Abdullahi Shafa, lamented the prolonged strike by primary school teachers over non-payment of the new minimum wage, saying the collapse of the education system in Area Councils was imminent if the crisis persisted.
The protest, which started at Labour House and moved to the FCTA Secretariat in Area 11, also drew members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), and other allied bodies.
The demonstrators blocked access to the Secretariat, demanding to be addressed by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
An attempt to calm the protesters by Mandate Secretary Lawrence Garki failed when the crowd erupted in loud chants of “thief, thief!” which drowned his voice, and they insisted he was not the person they came to see.
“We will not leave here until Wike comes out. We are tired of the lies and delay. Our people are suffering while the government continues to ignore us,” one protester shouted angrily
The labour group also demanded the resignation of the six Area Council chairmen, while accusing them of turning a blind eye to the plight of council staff, especially frontline workers such as teachers and healthcare personnel.
Mandate Secretary of the FCT Education Secretariat, Hayyo Danlami, later addressed the crowd on behalf of the minister.
He received their letter of demands and assured them that the issues raised would be given prompt attention.