The Kaduna State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers has threatened to shut down school operations in the state over non-implementation...
The Kaduna State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers has threatened to shut down school operations in the state over non-implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage.
The union declared that that failure to pay the new wage by August 2025 would leave them with no option but to embark on an indefinite strike.
President Bola Tinubu signed the minimum wage Act on May 29, 2024.
While Kaduna had yet to implement the minimum wage and Gombe was awaiting directives from the Nigeria Labour Congress, states like Zamfara, Lagos, Oyo, and others had already begun payment.
Speaking in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the Kaduna State Chairman of the NUT, Ibrahim Dalhatu, lamented the neglect of teachers’ welfare by the state government.
The chairman warned that should the government fail to honour the agreement; the union would have no choice but to mobilise teachers across the state for an indefinite industrial action.
He said, “If at all they fail us, we do not have any other alternative but to embark on an indefinite strike, because if we do not embark on an indefinite strike, we will not be able to reach them.”
Dalhatu noted that both primary school teachers and other workers whose salaries come from local government allocations had yet to benefit from the newly approved minimum wage.
Dalhatu said, “It’s quite unfortunate that Kaduna State teachers, not only teachers, but the entire workers, more especially those whose salaries are paid from primary schools and local governments, have yet to receive the N70,000 minimum wage.”
According to him, despite repeated assurances, workers in these categories had been sidelined in the ongoing implementation of the wage increase across the state.
Dalhatu disclosed that during a recent meeting with government officials and consultants handling the ongoing staff verification exercise, it was resolved that any worker who failed to appear for the screening process would have their salary stopped.
“What we have learnt is that about 80 to 90 per cent of the verification exercise has already been concluded through digital processes,” he stated.
The union leader also noted that workers who missed the exercise would be given another opportunity to present themselves for screening before any final decision would be made.
He said, “If they are genuine workers, they should reappear again at a designated place where the company, the consultant, will fix the date. So, they will screen them, and then they can start paying them the N70,000 minimum wage.”
Dalhatu maintained that by the end of July 2025, the union expected the state government to conclude the exercise and begin full implementation of the new wage structure by August.
“Our agreement with them is very clear. By August, we are expecting to start receiving the new minimum wage. That is what we have agreed,” he said.
Dalhatu accused the government of showing a clear lack of commitment to the welfare of teachers, adding that only sustained pressure through strike action would compel it to take the issue seriously.
“As it stands now, it’s obvious the government is not ready to pay us the minimum wage,” he declared.
Efforts to get a reaction from the Kaduna State Government on the matter proved abortive as of the time of filing this report.
In preparation to join the showdown, the Chairman of Gombe State Nigeria Union of Teachers, Ali Dalhatu, noted that the state was awaiting a signal from NLC for its next step.
Dalhatu, in a telephone interview with Sunday PUNCH, revealed that the state’s union was exploring all available options.
He said, “We are working together with organised labour and we are following stage by stage based on labour’s guidelines and NEC. Whatever they resolve is what we are going to follow.”
Dalhatu disclosed that they had yet to organise a meeting to know the next step.
He stated, “After the last meeting we had with the government, we have not held another but once there is any progress, we will notify the people.”
Meanwhile, the Zamfara State Government said it had since begun the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage to all cadres of civil servants working in the state.
This was made known by the Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal on Media and Communications, Mustafa Jafaru, while speaking with one of our correspondents.
Jafaru said Governor Lawal had implemented the N70,000 minimum wage to all categories of workers at the state and the local government level including primary school teachers.
He said, “The state government under the able leadership of Governor Dauda Lawal has paid the new minimum wage to every civil servant in the state, including primary school teachers, adult education teachers, and those working under Emirate councils.
“In fact, Zamfara State was among the first states that have implemented the N70,000 minimum wage to all categories of workers, including primary school teachers, at the state and the local government levels.”
In his reaction, the state Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Yahata Mafara, confirmed that the state government had started paying the N70,000 minimum wage to teachers.
Mafara noted that though the state government had commenced the N70,000 minimum wage, a lot of adjustments needed to be done so that every teacher would benefit irrespective of his or her grade level.
Similarly, the Nigeria Union of Teachers in Bayelsa State confirmed that the state government was paying the new minimum wage to teachers in the state.
The Secretary to the union, Hector Johnson, told Sunday PUNCH that secondary school teachers had started receiving the new minimum wage since last year.
He said, “It was the primary (school teachers) that were struggling, but they started receiving their own, I think April this year.”
Reacting to the matter in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Barnabas Simon, stated that teachers were being paid the new minimum wage.
The Executive Secretary, State Universal Basic Education Board in Bayelsa State, Victor Okubonanabo, confirmed that there was no issue regarding payment of the new minimum wage to teachers in the state.
Distancing themselves from the strike, teachers and local government employees in Yobe State said they had already begun receiving the new minimum wage.
The state Chairman of the NUT, Ado Idrissa, disclosed this to Sunday PUNCH.
He said, “Just like the state government civil servants who enjoyed an increase of N40,000 flat on top of the earlier 30 percent increase, teachers and local government employees were given N25,000 in addition to the 30 percent increase in the previous salary increment.
“With this salary increase, Yobe State will not be part of the proposed strike action by the national secretariat.”
Following suit, the Adamawa State chapter of the NLC and NUT confirmed that the primary school teachers and other local government workers were collecting the national minimum wage.
The state NLC Chairman, Emmanuel Fashe, disclosed this in an interview with Sunday PUNCH.
Also speaking, the state Chairman of NUT, Faisal Abubakar, confirmed that his members have started receiving the minimum wage from May 2025.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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