NUT Threatens Indefinite Strike Over Months of Unremitted Deductions and Unpaid Entitlements
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Gwagwalada and Zuba branches, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Executive Chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council, Hon. Abubakar Jibrin Giri, demanding the immediate remittance of outstanding statutory deductions and the settlement of long-overdue teachers’ entitlements.
The ultimatum followed an emergency meeting of the NUT Central Working Committee held on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, where union leaders reviewed what they described as the persistent neglect of teachers’ welfare and the council’s failure to honour previous agreements.
According to the union, a formal demand letter dated October 8, 2025 was earlier submitted to the Area Council Chairman, calling for the prompt remittance of statutory deductions to relevant bodies to ensure their continued operations.
While commending the council for sustaining the payment of the minimum wage, the union expressed “utmost displeasure” that several critical issues affecting teachers’ livelihoods remain unresolved months after engagement.
List of Unresolved Teachers’ Welfare Issues
The NUT outlined a backlog of unresolved obligations, including:
- Failure to remit one month union dues to the NUT FCT Wing, exposing the branches to ridicule and financial incapacity
- Non-remittance of two months cooperative deductions to the NUT FCT Multipurpose Cooperative Society and other cooperatives within the LEA
- Non-remittance of eleven months pension deductions to Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), denying teachers accrued interest on retirement savings
- Non-payment of the balance of one month minimum wage arrears
- Non-implementation of the 2023 promotion exercise and its arrears
- Failure to implement 2023, 2024, and 2025 annual salary increments and associated arrears
- Discontinuation of payment of 2015–2020 promotion arrears, despite an agreed payment template
- Failure to upgrade teachers under-employed since 2020
The union stated that the prolonged failure to address these issues has plunged teachers into severe financial hardship, exposing many to debt, hunger, and public embarrassment, while also eroding morale across public primary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council.
Consequently, the NUT resolved to issue a seven-day ultimatum, demanding:
- Immediate remittance of all deducted funds to statutory bodies
- Commencement of payment of all outstanding teachers’ benefits and arrears
The union warned that failure to comply within the ultimatum period would trigger an industrial dispute, including an indefinite strike action starting Thursday, January 22, 2026
The ultimatum letter was jointly signed by:
- Abubakar Sadiq Ahmed – Chairman, NUT Gwagwalada Branch
- Joseph S. Solomon – Chairman, NUT Zuba Branch
- Abubakar Momoh Sani – Secretary, NUT Gwagwalada Branch
- Mohammad Falala Salihu – Secretary, NUT Zuba Branch
Copies were sent to the NUT FCT Wing, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Education Secretary of Gwagwalada Area Council.
As of the time of filing this report, the Gwagwalada Area Council had not issued any official response to the ultimatum.
