The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), has given a 30-day ultimatum to the Plateau state government and 18 other states within which they are expected to pay up its members being owed several months of salary or face an indefinite strike.

Revealing the alarming statistics, the National President of the union, Mr Michael Alogba Olukoya, during a National Executive Council (NEC), meeting held at the Teachers House, Oluyole, Ibadan, said that, Plateau State government has been paying half salary since 2010.

The NUT president named other states and what they owe as salaries. According to him, Benue owe 10 months, Ekiti and Cross River owe six months each. Kogi is also said to be paying half salaries since 2013, and not paying at all for the last 15 months. Ondo owes five months.

The others are Taraba which owes four months, Niger, Delta and Oyo which owe three months each, and Abia which owes five months. Osun state, he said, has been paying its teachers half salary for 23 months, while Nasarawa has paid half salary for 18 months.

Adamawa owes four months, while Bayelsa is yet to pay for eight and a half months. Imo has been paying 70% monthly salary, while Kwara owes the teachers four months salaries. Borno state is yet to pay minimum wage, and Zamfara is yet to implement national minimum wage.

Olukoya said, “We hereby give a 30-day ultimatum to all the above-mentioned states to pay all outstanding salaries being owed teachers. They will soon collect another Paris Club money and we hope they will pay all the backlog of salary arrears. If any State fails to pay up within this stipulated time, we shall converge again and give a notice of action. There is going to be total disconnect between us and such governments.” It is disheartening to put mildly, that many states will treat workers in this manner, more importantly those that are supposed to train the leaders of tomorrow. Are these states not already creating problems for the future of Nigeria?

count | 259

Plateau: NUT threatens strike, says teachers only paid half salaries for 7 years