The National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Comrade Audu Titus Amba, issued the stark warning on Thursday in Abuja during the union’s 2026 Annual Solemn Assembly held at the NUT headquarters in Lugbe, stating that the union’s patience with non-complying states has run out.
“We will take statistics and direct the primary schools in states that have not implemented the minimum wage for the primary school teachers to be shut,” Amba declared, adding that the union’s National Executive Council would meet immediately after the assembly to review the list of defaulting states and issue formal directives for an indefinite strike.
Gombe and Zamfara states were specifically named as among those yet to implement the N70,000 national minimum wage for primary school teachers, even though other categories of workers in those same states are already receiving the adjusted salary. The selective implementation is what the union described as not just unfair but deeply insulting to a profession that forms the foundation of Nigeria’s entire education system.
Amba made clear the union would no longer tolerate partial or selective implementation of the minimum wage, noting that while some states have rolled it out for state civil servants and secondary school teachers, primary school teachers under local government education authorities have been consistently excluded. “In some states, they implemented for state civil servants, including secondary school teachers, but those teaching in primary schools and paid by local governments are finding it difficult to get implementation,” he said.
The pattern of exclusion is not new but the consequences are becoming impossible to ignore. Amba cited the Federal Capital Territory as a cautionary example, where primary school teachers were forced to embark on a three month strike before the minimum wage was finally implemented.
The NUT president condemned the non-compliance as a direct attack on the dignity of teachers and the integrity of public education. “Let the minimum wage reach all workers so everyone will feel a part of it. It is unfair for those not getting the higher wage and it will destabilize education delivery across the country,” he said.
Beyond the wage dispute, Amba painted a troubling picture of the teaching profession in Nigeria. He raised alarm over the growing Japa syndrome, revealing that teachers are now leaving Nigeria in significant numbers for better opportunities abroad including in neighbouring African countries. “We thought it only affected health workers, but even teachers are leaving because systems elsewhere are working better,” he said.
He also decried the state of infrastructure in many public primary schools, where pupils sit on bare floors and teachers lack basic facilities including chairs to sit on while marking scripts.
Amba’s broader demand goes beyond the minimum wage. He called for a special salary structure that would make teaching genuinely attractive one that draws the best graduates into classrooms rather than pushing qualified individuals toward other professions.
He pointed to Finland and Canada as countries where prioritising teachers’ welfare has made the profession among the most desirable in the labour market.
Nigeria Labour Congress President Joe Ajaero, who also spoke at the assembly, backed the call for a special salary structure, saying teachers’ role in national development demands deliberate commitment from all levels of government.
Following the NEC meeting held shortly after the Solemn Assembly, Amba issued a two week ultimatum to union leaders in non-complying states, warning that failure to report implementation progress within that window would trigger immediate strike action. He was direct about what comes next. “If minimum wage will not be implemented for primary school teachers and you expect them to continue collecting N30,000 while others are receiving N70,000, then it is an aberration,” he said.