The Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has appealed to members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in the North-Central state to suspend their strike that they began on Monday over non-payment of their salaries.
This is contained in a statement on Monday in Ilorin by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari.
The statement said the contending issue was not really about non-payment of teachers’ salaries.
It said that it was about non-availability of funds to pay salaries which required collective efforts to address rather than embarking on strike.
“As a party, we wish to state that we feel the concerns and share in the pains of primary school teachers in the state.
“Quite unfortunate, this issue is chiefly caused by the dwindling allocations due to the state from the federation account.
“It requires collective efforts to address rather than going on strike. If the resources are available today, Gov. AbdulFatah Ahmed will pay all teachers like it had always done in the past five years.
“There is a cordial relationship between the State Government and the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers.
“Not too long ago, the union acknowledged the outstanding performance of Gov. Ahmed in the sector with a national merit award.
“We wish to say the record of the state government is clear and the will to pay teachers’ salaries by the Kwara State Government is not doubtful.
“In the light of the above, we hereby appeal to leadership of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Kwara to suspend its plan to embark on the industrial action,” the statement said.
It assured the people of the state and the teachers that the state government was not folding its arms in the financial quagmire.
The statement maintained that the economic situation of the country was the reason the state government had embarked on an aggressive revenue generation drive.
It said that the state had repositioned its Internal Revenue Service for more effectiveness in the discharge of its roles as the revenue generating agency of the government.
