ALGON, NUT trade words over teachers’ strike in Delta

Members of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Delta State have engaged in a war of words over the ongoing teachers’ strike.

While the teachers are pressing for the payment of their outstanding salaries, ALGON has blamed alleged poor leadership of the NUT for the action.
A statement by ALGON Chairman, Mr. Itiako Ikpoko urged the NUT to consider the “negative consequences” of its industrial action, which failed to reckon with the paucity of funds in the state.

Ikpoko urged the teachers to call off its strike, which it started last week Thursday, describing it as “ill-advised.”

According to him, the NUT’s allegation that the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) reduced teachers’ salaries to 81 per cent was “incorrect.”

He explained that the country’s poor economy had brought down the monthly allocation collected by local councils, which had also affected the regular payment of salaries.

Reacting, the Secretary-General of the NUT, Mr. Joe Iyalekhue, disagreed with ALGON’s leadership.

He explained that the strike was called due to the failure of the state government to honour its promises to pay primary and secondary teachers.

Iyalekhue described ALGON’s interpretation of the strike as a “charade that had no interest in the welfare of the unpaid teachers.

“Those teachers who have not been paid for several months are human beings who have responsibilities to their families.”

He explained that some teachers who obtained loans had been unable to pay back and were being threatened by their creditors.
Also, some of the teachers who took loans to start businesses have closed down because the local councils owed them over 13 months salaries.