Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state has drawn the battle line between his government and the striking teachers who have been on industrial action for over 13 days, thereby grounding academic activities in the state public primary and post primary schools.
The teachers under the aegis of Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) declared strike action on Thursday March 9, 2017, insisting that the state government must pay primary school teachers’ salaries for four months and fulfill agreements it entered with the union on the implementation of promotion of secondary school teachers, among other issues raised by the union.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa says Delta state government has met all obligations to secondary school teachers, hence they have no right to remain on strike
On Saturday, March 18, Governor Okowa issued a circular through the state director of information, Paul Osahor, compelling all secondary school teachers to resume school and failure to do so, the state government would apply the no work no pay policy on the striking teachers.
But on Monday, the teachers defied the governor’s directive, put all the school gates under lock and key and sent all teachers back from the school gates.
As soon as the union members had left, it was learnt that the government officials mobilized policemen, stormed the schools and opened the school gates but the teachers had been driven home by the union members.
Students who had come to school following the circular released by the state government, were stranded as there was no teacher to attend to them. Many, it was gathered, played around the school and returned home.
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It was learnt that town criers went round the city of Asaba, announcing to parents and students that school had resumed undermining the fact that it is the Nigerian Union of Teachers that embarked on the strike that is constitutionally empowered to call its members back to school for classes to begin.
On Tuesday, events took another dimension as some of the teachers revealed that the state government allegedly employed the services of police officers, thugs and street urchins allegedly from Ogbeognogo market to harass the striking teachers and attempt to compel them to resume school when agreement reached has not been implemented.
It was gathered that the police with the street urchins combed all the public secondary schools in Asaba with the aim of compelling all teachers who had come to check developments to remain in the school and forcefully teach the students.
Delta NUT says no, Governor Okowa has not met all obligations to secondary school teachers. It says there are things the governor is not saying out which are weightier than what he is saying.
ZENITHBLOG.com learnt that teachers at Osadenis High School were harassed by police officers allegedly under the directive of the state government as strategy to compel the striking teachers back to the classroom.
One of the teachers who spoke to ZENITHBLOG.com on condition of anonymity, said some of the thugs employed were members of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) who drove into the school with the NULGE bus.
The teacher said as soon as they entered the school premises, they demanded for the school principal but were told that schools were on strike and that the principal could not be seen.
According to the teacher: “They tried to compel us to sign time book. We told them we were waiting for NUT to give us directive and not local government. Our principal was already getting afraid and saying we should sign.
“While that was going on, they started making calls not knowing that they were calling police men. Before we knew it, policemen came in three patrol vans loaded with police officers. Our teachers said you can’t threaten us
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“The policemen started asking for union members but our teachers said you cannot intimidate us. They carried one of our teachers into their bus. They threatened us wanting us to show them union members. They came like thugs and thieves to the school. It was a big drama in the school.”
The teacher alleged that one of the police officers brought out tear gas but was asked to drop it by the school principal.
According to the teacher, Okowa did not mean well for the teachers, adding that the use of police to intimidate teachers was because they were teachers and that if they were doctors, the state government wouldn’t have employed police to harass them.
Governor Okowa and Delta NUT chairman, Jonathan Jemirieyigbe, fight to finish
The source explained that beside the issue of stagnation and promotion arrears, “one of our teachers who is a member of NUT brought out 10 points that were listed. If you started work with NCE and later went to school and did conversion, if you have crossed level 14, you will be brought back to 14, that is the bar for NCE.
“If you are already in 14 and you did that conversion, they will bring you back to 12. That means all the school we later attended to upgrade ourselves is now in vain. Okowa is using all force, both lawyers, policemen and touts to intimidate teachers.
“We told them that we are not talking of salaries, place us where we are supposed to be. The Chief Inspector of Education that came to our school on seeing the things and the issues on ground left without a word because it was not what she thought.”
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One of the NUT executive, who was arrested, confirmed that he was invited by the police in Asaba but after questioning, the police told them that they were fighting a just cause, hence they should carry on with the strike until the state government attends to their needs.
It was also alleged that the commissioner of police, Ibrahim Zanna, told them to be united and fight it out, saying it is only through unity will their needs be met. This followed after they have laid down their grievances before the police and they saw the justification for the teachers’ actions.
But Governor Okowa, in a meeting with the new chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Michael Nwobodo, said the state government has fulfilled all its obligations to the secondary school teachers, hence the secondary school teachers had no right embarking on the strike, even as he described the strike action as sympathy with primary school teachers.
He stressed that government at the Joint Account Allocation Committee has in conjunction with the various labour leaders agreed to the payment of 81 percent of salaries to local government staff and primary school teachers who were being owed nine months and three months salaries respectively but added that the NUT executive wanted to be taken care of to the detriment of the NULGE members forgetting that the money is meant to be used to pay both local government council workers and teachers’ salaries.
As it is now, the union members are not willing to bend, neither is the state government ready to bow to the desire of teachers. The battle line is already drawn. It is now left to know who blinks first. Is it the teachers who are demanding for their rights or the governor who has given various reasons why it is impossible to meet the need of the teachers? Time will tell.
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