Facts have emerged as to how the governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, battled the continuous issue of teachers strike in the state. The governor, Gabriel Suswam underscored the impact of the ongoing strike embarked upon by primary school teachers in the state when he said the strike action has made him look like somebody carrying a big stone.
The governor made the remark during the stakeholders meeting put together by the state government to strike a meeting point in order to call off the strike action and call back the teachers and their pupils to the classroom.
The teachers are protesting the non-payment of minimum wage to them whereas it is being paid to other sectors in the state.
Present at the meeting were the state chapter of Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, commissioner of education and other relevant bodies.
Suswam, in his address said it would be an uphill task for the state to accept to pay what he described as the version of NUT minimum wage in light of the dwindling resources accruing to the state from the federation account.
He said while the local government sector in the state receives the average of N2.6 billion monthly from the federation account, N950 million out of the sum is used for paying teachers salaries while N1.9 billion goes for the salary of local government staff, adding that the difference have always been augmented by the state government.
The above development, he said, has indebted the local governments to the state to the tune of billions of naira, a situation which he said has not only prevented the state from completing its projects but the local governments from embarking on any.
The governor however said if he has to pay the minimum wage as defined by the teachers, he would then be forced to substantially reduce the number of teachers, some of whom he alleged are not qualified to teach.
Others that may be affected in the rationalisation exercise include surrogates of politicians as well as idle staff at the area education offices, most of whom were brought in through the back door by politicians.
“Seventy two per cent of our budget is going into recurrent; payment of salaries and overhead. If as defined by them minimum wage means salary increase, then we will substantially reduce the number of teachers. We cannot exist when the whole money is going into recurrent,” Suswam stated.
He expressed worry over reaction in certain quarters, including churches, where people are ignorantly praying to God to make him change his mind while on the contrary the money is not even there for him to contemplate such.
Suswam disclosed that Benue, with 29,000 teachers, has the highest number of teachers at the local government level compared to some of the state at the north central zone. While the neighbouring Nasarawa has 7,000, Plateau, he said has 13,000, Kogi, 26,000 while Niger has 11,000.
However, the state chairman of NUT, Comrade Godwin Anya and that of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Simon Anchaver separately urged the governor to look for money anywhere and commence payment of the minimum wage which they said is already outstanding to teachers.
But the governor insisted that the only way to implement the minimum wage was to downsize the number of teachers, stressing that, “it would be foolhardy for me to say what is not sustainable.”
He, therefore, set up a committee headed by the deputy governor of the state, Chief Steven Lawani to meet with the NUT members within the duration of two weeks and put the matter to rest.
Other members of the committee included the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon Terhile Emmanuel Ayua, Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Solomon Wombo, the NUT chairman and secretary, NLC chairman, state PTA chairman, permanent secretary Establishment and Attorney General of Federation who will serve as secretary of the committee.
Frantic persuasions from the governor to make the teachers to call off the strike failed as they said the strike was at the instance of the national headquarters of NUT.
“I don’t have the power to call off the strike. I can assist you to meet National to call off,” said Comrade Anya.
One issue that may constitute a snag on the wheels of the committee is a suit filed by some aggrieved teachers at the National Industrial Court in Makurdi. Although the state NUT chairman said he was not aware of any such matter in court, the governor said its voila constitute an impediment to the peace process, urging “ let us not take hard stand on the issue that concern the future of our children.”