Over 3,000 Ebonyi Teachers Protest Unpaid 3-Month Salaries

• Over 3,000 Ebonyi teachers protest unpaid 3-month salaries.
• Teachers claim salary delay caused the deaths of three colleagues.
• Protesters block roads in Abakaliki, demanding payment and action.

Over 3,000 teachers from the 13 local government areas of Ebonyi State took to the streets of Abakaliki on Sunday, protesting the non-payment of their salaries for three months and the failure of council chairmen to implement the minimum wage.

The protesters marched to the Akanu-Ibiam International Conference Centre (ICC) and blocked Onwe Road, causing traffic disruption for over three hours.

The teachers issued a vote of no confidence against the 13 local government chairmen, claiming the salary delay had contributed to the sudden deaths of three teachers on Christmas Day.

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The teachers’ grievances followed a directive from Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, who had given the council chairmen a 24-hour ultimatum to settle the arrears before Christmas. However, the chairmen reportedly ignored the governor’s order for nearly a week.

Carrying placards with messages such as “We are dying of hunger,” “Pay us our 3 months salaries,” and “UBEB teachers are suffering,” the teachers voiced their frustration over the lack of payment and Christmas bonuses.

Mrs. Udu Nnenna, one of the protesters, spoke out about the hardship faced by teachers: “For the past three months, we have not received our salaries, no bonus, no minimum wage, no arrears, no promotional increment. We are dying gradually.”

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A protester, speaking anonymously, added, “We are hungry. We are the UBEB teachers, and our members are dying every day due to the refusal by local government chairmen to pay our salaries. SEB teachers have received their full payments, but we remain unpaid.”

The situation escalated when Ebonyi’s Commissioner for Education, Mr. Paul Awo Nwabosi, met with the protest leaders but chose to threaten them rather than address their concerns.

The commissioner ordered the arrest of the protest leaders, forcing them into a Hilux van, and declined further comment .

Efforts to reach Mr. Chinedu Uburu, Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Ebonyi State, for comment were unsuccessful as calls to him went unanswered.

Here is the video of the week