By PHILIP YATAI

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has urged the National Assembly, legislating on FCT matters, to pay close attention to what the FCT area councils are doing.

Wike made the call in Abuja on Thursday, while reacting to the ongoing strike by primary school teachers and other workers in the area councils over unpaid allowances and other entitlements.

The minister, who made the reaction after inspecting some ongoing projects in the FCT, stressed the need for the National Assembly to put the area council chairmen on their toes.

He particularly called on the House of Representatives Committee on FCT Area Council and Ancillary Matters to intervene and end the lingering strike by primary school teachers in the territory.

He said that the chairmen of the area councils were elected officials and not appointed, stressing the need of the committee to look into their affairs.

Wike said that, as FCT minister, he had been talking to the council chairmen to understand the danger of denying children education.

He, however, said that the committee had a responsibility of carrying out oversight on the activities of the area councils, instead of the undue focus on the FCT Administration.

?The chairman of the committee of area councils? responsibility is to oversee what the area councils are doing because the legislature of the FCT today is the National Assembly.

?But it?s unfortunate that the committee concentrated on just inviting the minister of state to come and defend the budget that had been defended.

?People don?t do what they?re supposed to do. They concentrate on things that do not fall within their jurisdiction,? he said.

The minister said he was expecting the chairman of the committee to have invited the area council chairmen over the lingering teachers? strike to find ways to solve the problem.

He promised to do everything possible to get the teachers back to the classrooms, promising that very soon the problem would be sorted out.

According to him, nobody can feel happy when the teachers are at home.

?It is the basic thing that we must do, and I can assure you that very soon the matter will be resolved.? (NAN)

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