Unpaid teachers storm finance ministry over three-year salary arrears

A group of frustrated teachers employed between 2018 and 2021 staged a protest on Monday at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, blocking the entrance as they demanded immediate payment of their outstanding salaries, which they say have been withheld for years.

The teachers, some of whom claim to have gone without pay for as long as three years, accused the government of prolonged neglect and unnecessary bureaucracy. They said while other ministries have cleared backlogs, the Ministry of Education remains the only institution yet to fulfil its salary obligations.

“We are not talking about allowances – these are full salaries that have never been paid,” one of the protesters explained. “Many of us were employed in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Up until 2021, we didn’t receive a kobo. We lived on loans for survival, and many couldn’t pay rent. Some of our landlords are still after us.”

The teachers described the hardship they have endured over the years, stressing that despite remaining dedicated to their duties, including during the COVID-19 lockdowns, they were abandoned by the system.

“While others were at home during the pandemic, we were teaching in classrooms. No hazard allowance, no relief packages – nothing,” said another teacher. “Today, we can’t even afford to send our children to the same schools where we teach.”

Protesters stated that all official avenues have been explored in their quest for justice. They said repeated appeals to the Ministry of Education, the Civil Service Commission, and the Office of the Head of Service have yielded no result.

“All the Ministers of Education, the Permanent Secretaries – we’ve reached out to them,” one teacher said. “We’ve gone to the Civil Service Commission and the Head of Service, yet no one has addressed our plight. There’s been no sign of empathy or urgency.”

The group claims the Ministry of Finance is now the only barrier left in the chain of processing their payments. “We’ve been told that every other ministry has paid their workers. Only the Ministry of Education is lagging. That’s why we’ve come here today,” a protester explained.

The demonstration is the latest in a series of labour-related protests in Nigeria’s education sector, underscoring mounting frustrations over welfare, unpaid salaries, and underfunding.

As of the time of filing this report, the Ministry of Finance had not issued any formal response to the demonstrators’ demands.

The teachers vowed to continue their protest until the government provides clear answers and sets a definitive timeline for the payment of all outstanding salary arrears.