FCT Teachers’ Strike: VDM Leads Protest, Teaches Pupils Outside Ministry’s Gate
Today, outspoken social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), took his protest to the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), demanding immediate government action to end the ongoing strike by primary school teachers in Abuja, which has lasted for over 90 days.
In a dramatic display, VDM assembled a group of school children dressed in their uniforms outside the FCT Ministry gate. There, he conducted an open-air class, teaching the pupils alphabets in a satirical manner. “S for Suegbe, T for Tinubu, W for Wike,” he chanted, with the children repeating after him, an act meant to mock the silence of political leaders over the education crisis.
Primary school teachers in the FCT have been on strike since March 24, 2025, due to the refusal of Area Council Chairmen to implement the new national minimum wage of ₦70,000. The prolonged strike has forced thousands of pupils out of classrooms for over three months, with no end in sight.
Addressing the protest, Bitrus Garki, Mandate Secretary of the Area Councils Services Secretariat, acknowledged the issue but placed responsibility on the Area Councils. He emphasized that while the FCT Administration, led by Minister Nyesom Wike, had been involved in mediation, it could not unilaterally enforce compliance.
“The FCT administration has been intervening in Area Council matters,” Garki said. “But I can’t stand here and say when this will end. However, we have received your message loud and clear.”
Unsatisfied with the official response, VDM issued a seven-day ultimatum to the FCT Administration, warning of a larger protest if no progress was made. He vowed to mobilize more children from across the Territory to escalate the campaign.
“We have decided to give them a week,” he said. “If they don’t do anything and the children are not back in school, we will invite students from the whole FCT to come.”
VDM also announced his intention to extend his protests to the health sector, highlighting the ongoing strike by primary healthcare workers who, like the teachers, have been denied the ₦70,000 minimum wage.
The protest underscores growing frustration over prolonged government inaction on workers’ welfare, especially in a sector directly affecting children.
