As Nigeria’s FCT Minister Wike Grabs Land, Schools Remain Closed and Teachers Unpaid

Abuja, the seat of Nigeria’s federal government and home to the Presidency, the National Assembly, and all Federal Ministers, has seen its public primary schools shut down for over two months. The prolonged strike, which began on March 24, 2025, affects more than 400 schools across six FCT area councils, leaving thousands of pupils stuck at home.

These government-owned primary schools are shut down due to a strike by teachers over the non-implementation of the new national minimum wage. The situation has persisted despite the federal government’s pronouncements and promises of prioritising education reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

This shutdown of schools in the heart of power under Tinubu’s administration, with both the President and his ministers, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, residing in the capital, yet unable or unwilling to resolve the collapse in basic education, is not the only issue currently ravaging the federal capital.

On Monday, staff members of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) barricaded the entrance to the FCTA Secretariat in Abuja, calling for the immediate removal of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. The workers cited what they described as gross neglect of staff welfare, worsening working conditions, and an increase in administrative highhandedness under Wike’s leadership.

“Wike is not a blessing to us; rather, he’s a disaster to those of us staff in the FCT here. We receive our salaries on the 5th or 6th of the following month,” one of the protesting staff told journalists.

Critics argue that while Wike has been seen commissioning roads and launching infrastructure projects across Abuja, the foundational issues of governance, particularly staff welfare and public service delivery, have been left with no immediate priority.

Watch on YouTube: Wike commission access road in Giri District

The shutdown of Abuja’s primary schools is not merely an educational outage—it is a symbolic indictment of governance priorities. While the capital’s children are locked out, Minister Wike has been presiding over infrastructure launches and ribbon-cutting ceremonies across the city.’’

A recent wave of land-related controversies has further fueled the crisis surrounding Wike’s tenure. Allegations surfaced days ago that the FCT Minister allocated plots of land in Abuja to his son, a claim he has publicly denied.

Yet amid the backlash over land management, Wike recently claimed that the University of Abuja had illegally acquired 7,000 hectares of land. He warned the university to either utilise the land or risk revocation. The statement was met with concern from academic stakeholders who viewed the move as a political overreach and a threat to institutional autonomy.

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Oluwasegun Sanusi

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