Non-Governmental Organisations lament long closure of primary education, healthcare centres in Abuja

Group of Non-Governmental Organisations under the aegis of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Civil Society Organizations Accountability Mechanism Network (FCT-CAM) have called for urgent need to end the paralysis of Primary Education and Healthcare in the nation’s capital city.

Penpushing reports that the appeal was contained in a statement issued by stakeholders and concern citizens forwarded to Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike and copies sent to other top political appointees

The letter titled, ‘A Cry for Our Children and the Sick – Urgent Appeal to End the Paralysis of Primary Education and Healthcare in the FCT’, said it is with a profound sense of civic duty and deep concern for the welfare of the people and residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that they wrote the appeal.

Penpushing further reports that the civil society organizations said it became necessary to raise concern regarding the egregious ongoing strike by health workers and teachers across the six Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area councils.

‘For over ninety agonizing days, the very foundations of our communities—our primary schools and primary healthcare centres—have been shut down and closed, with no hope of reopening soon’, the letter noted.

‘This prolonged strike has resulted in significant and severe disruptions to essential health and education services, affecting the most vulnerable members of our society. The escalating consequences of this three-month-long strike are dire’.

‘Our children, the supposed leaders of tomorrow, are left roaming the streets, their educational futures jeopardized and imperiled by locked classroom doors. For three months, the strike has deprived and denied our children of their fundamental right to education in public schools, widening the gap in inequality and equity between those who can afford private education and those who cannot’.

‘This is an unacceptable mortgage on their future and a direct threat to the long-term prosperity of the FCT and Nigeria at large. Simultaneously, the most vulnerable in our communities – children, pregnant women, the elderly, infants, the sick, and even the youths – are denied access to desperately needed care’.

‘Preventable illnesses are going untreated, and the overall health of our communities is deteriorating. This critical lack of access to primary healthcare services daily puts lives at risk, directly contradicting our collective commitment to equality and equity. The neglect of these basic health needs of the people constitutes a grave injustice’.

‘As civil society organizations and concerned stakeholders, we firmly believe that every life has intrinsic value and deserves access to quality healthcare and education. We call upon you, our elected and appointed leaders, to look transcend administrative and political wrangling and confront the devastating human cost of this impasse. True leadership is defined not by assigning blame, but by taking responsibility and seeking adaptive solutions’.

Penpushing also reports that the bodies, however, prayed for urgent intervention in the ongoing strike to open the schools and Primary Health Care (Centres(PHCs) to the children and health care seeking clients across the six area councils

‘Engage with representatives of health workers and teachers to address their grievances and find and implement sustainable solutions to prevent future disruptions. The people of the FCT are suffering’

Penpushing reports that the appeal called on Wike for intervention and to deploy his full authority to address this crisis and facilitate an immediate and lasting resolution, as well as imploring the six Area Council Chairmen to demonstrate leadership and good faith that prioritizes the welfare of Federal Capital Territory(FCT) children, women, youths, and people as their utmost responsibility.

‘We call on the Chair and members of the Senate committee on FCT, House of Representatives Committee on FCT, and FCT Area Councils and Ancillary Matters, along with our distinguished Senator Ireti Kingibe and our Honourable Representatives, Ajiya Abdulrahaman and Joshua Chinedu Obika, to leverage your legislative powers, oversight, and representative functions to engage concerned parties to resolve this dispute without further delay’.

‘You are the direct voice of the people in the National Assembly; we urge you to amplify their suffering and champion their cause, and act now to secure our present for a better future.  The time for excuses is over’.

‘The time for decisive action is now. Every additional day that our schools and clinics remain closed represents a gross failure of governance. We plead with you to consider the long-term implications of this strike on our society and take immediate steps to mitigate its overwhelming effects. We stand ready and willing to collaborate and support all genuine efforts to find an immediate and lasting solution’.

‘We urge you to act swiftly and decisively in the best interest of the people you swore an oath to serve. Reopen our schools, reopen our healthcare centres, and restore the hope of a functional and caring society in the FCT. We await your prompt and positive response cum action.

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