Primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have finally ended their strike after three months. The teachers are set to return to the classrooms starting today, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.

The strike started on March 24, 2025, due to unpaid salaries. The head of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in FCT, Abubakar Shafa, had earlier said that teachers would not go back to work until they received their outstanding payments. However, after the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, stepped in and approved N16 billion for the teachers’ benefits, the union decided to suspend the strike.

A statement was released after an emergency meeting of the NUT leadership in the FCT. The meeting took place on July 3, 2025, and was called by the FCT Minister. Those in attendance included top officials from the National Assembly, FCT Head of Service, Treasury officials, NUT leaders, and other important stakeholders.

In the statement, the union explained that even though the Area Councils are in charge of paying teachers’ salaries, their funds are not enough. Minister Wike agreed with this and decided to release six months’ worth of 10% of FCT’s internal revenue, which added up to N16 billion. This money will be used to pay June 2025 salaries under the new minimum wage and also cover 60% of unpaid arrears from the past nine months.