Protest hits Kogi as NUT kicks against funding of primary education by LGs

The Kogi State Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, has protested the handing over of teachers’ salaries and allowances to Local Government councils.

NUT officials from all the 21 LGAs in the state gathered at the state secretariat of the union in Lokoja carrying banners and placards, part of which read: “Kogi NUT says No! to funding of primary education by local government councils, they have no capacity to pay primary school teachers,” “Save Primary education from imminent collapse,” “we say No to the dark era of nonpayment of salaries”, among others

Addressing the press during the protest match, the state chairman of the union, Comrade Suleiman Abdullahi said the NUT was not against the granting of autonomy to local governments, pointing out that their grudge was that their salaries and allowances should not be handed over to the LGs.

He maintained that “the national headquarters of the union has taken the matter before the National Assembly to either handover basic education teachers’ emolument to Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, at Abuja or to state governments, as experience has proved that local councils would not pay teachers.”

The NUT chairman refered the National Assembly to a Supreme Court ruling contained in the Nigerian Law Reports of 6th May 2002, which held that administering of UBE was the responsibility of state governments and that local councils only come in as participants

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