By Oso Abidemi
Healthcare workers and teachers in the Federal Capital Territory took to the streets yesterday in a coordinated protest, demanding the immediate implementation of the seventy thousand naira minimum wage, unpaid allowances, and improved working conditions.
The demonstrators, under the banners of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives and the Nigerian Union of Teachers, marched from Labour House to the FCT Minister’s office in Garki, Abuja, where they submitted a protest letter to administration officials.
Jama Medan, Chairman of the FCT chapter of the nurses’ union, decried the dire state of primary healthcare centres. “Over two hundred and seventy PHCs are barely running with only one hundred and twenty nurses and midwives.
“The centres have been shut down for more than a month, and no one seems to care. Women and children are dying,” he lamented.
He accused FCT Area Council Chairmen of diverting over four billion naira released for the payment of arrears, urging the FCT administration to act swiftly.
Minister Nyesom Wike also blasted the area council chairmen, blaming their “insensitivity” for the worsening crisis. “I approved the funds. They received it. But they have refused to pay the teachers. I have now summoned all of them,” Wike declared.
As the standoff continues, the striking workers insist they will not return until their demands are met.
