The Chairman of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Segun Raheem has expressed confidence in the willingness of the state government to address the issue of the 27.5 percent balance payment of the Teachers’ Specific Allowances.
Fielding questions from newsmen on Thursday, Raheem said the teachers in the state were not angry with the government as speculated by reports in a section of the media, but rather they were happy that the state has been addressing the issue with a view to finding lasting solution to it.
He explained that the issue of the settlement of the allowance was now before a sub-committee set up by a Joint Negotiation Council to examine the financial implication of the payment.
A text message had been circulating in the state calling on civil servants, including teachers, to vote wisely in 2015 if they want their allowances to be paid in full.
The state government, which civil servants confirm has been paying salaries as and when due, had paid 60 percent of the allowances remaining 40 percent.
Raheem said the association had met with the governor and he has committed to paying the balance of the allowance when the economy improved, adding that when the council discovered that economy had improved, it again wrote to the government after which another 9 percent was paid.
He was optimistic that the government would soon solve the problem going by the steps taken so far, details of which the union said it was aware of and urged his members to remain calm and continue to believe in the union for a solution soon.
Earlier at a news conference, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, had said the government was making every effort to ensure the completion of the payment of the outstanding allowance.
“Teachers are not angry with Fashola, they are happy with us. We are working hand in hand to meet their demands,” Oladunjoye said.
“Government is mindful of the critical roles and importance of teachers in the scheme of things. As a matter of fact, our conviction of the pivoted roles of education and indeed our teachers in the development and economic growth of a nation has been our driving force in the attainment of becoming the model of excellence in the provision of education in Africa.
“Government is mindful of the need to fully pay the 27.5 percent Special Teacher Allowance to its teachers, hence government is working assiduously with a view to paying the balance of the Special Teacher Allowance to its teachers soonest.”
