• VeryDarkMan led a protest at the FCT Minister’s residence, using schoolchildren to dramatize the impact of the ongoing primary school teachers’ strike, now over 90 days long.
• The activist issued a one-week ultimatum, warning that a larger protest involving more students would follow if the government fails to act.
• FCT official Bitrus Garki acknowledged the concerns, stating that while the issue falls under Area Councils, efforts and stakeholder dialogues are ongoing to resolve it.

Popular activist and social media personality, Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), took his protest to the residence of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister in Abuja on Monday, voicing concern over the prolonged strike by primary school teachers in the capital.

The strike, which began on March 24, 2025, has now stretched beyond 90 days. It was sparked by the refusal of Area Council Chairmen to implement the new national minimum wage of ₦70,000 for primary school teachers.

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As part of his peaceful demonstration, VDM arrived with a group of schoolchildren in uniform and held a symbolic lesson at the entrance of the minister’s home. In a mock classroom setting, he led them in a chant, saying, “S for Suegbe, T for Tinubu, W for Wike,” which the children repeated after him.

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While addressing the gathering, Bitrus Garki, Mandate Secretary of the Area Councils Services Secretariat, explained that the issue lies with the local governments, though the FCT administration has been involved in trying to resolve it.

“The FCT administration has been intervening in Area Council matters,” Garki stated.
“This responsibility is largely the responsibility of the Area Councils. But because this is the state and we also have a relationship with the local government, that is why we come in to intervene in many cases, not just as regards to school, including infrastructure, and many other things.”

He added that discussions involving various stakeholders were ongoing and emphasized that the Area Councils function independently.

“These are collaborative efforts, the local governments are duly elected and they are also a tier of government on their own,” he explained.

Although he offered no timeline for resolution, Garki assured the demonstrators that their complaints had been acknowledged.

“We have heard what you have said, and we have received you, but what I can guarantee you is that your message has been heard loud and clear, and the authorities will sit on this matter and see that it is addressed.
As to when this will happen, because this is multi-faceted and involves stakeholders’ collaboration, which has been happening. I can’t stand here and say this is when it is going to end.”

He also revealed that dialogue with traditional leaders and labour unions such as the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) was underway.

“Just to mention, recently, even the traditional institutions, the traditional rulers who are also within my office, have called in the union to discuss and dialogue this matter, and they have also referred their solutions to our desk, which we are also looking at to see that this matter is addressed,” Garki said.

Responding, VeryDarkMan gave the FCT authorities one week to take action, warning that a larger demonstration could follow if nothing changes.

“We have decided to give them a week. In the meantime, if they don’t do anything and the children are not back in school, we will have to come with more students. We will invite students from the whole FCT to come. So we are giving a week, and hopefully, we will get a positive result,” he warned.

He also announced that Tuesday’s protest would shift focus to the healthcare sector, particularly primary healthcare workers affected by the same wage issue.

“On the issue of primary healthcare, I hope you people are still talking about that. If you are not, we will do primary healthcare tomorrow. Today is for the students. We are going to do for primary healthcare,” he said.

VDM concluded by saying the protest was not meant as an attack on Minister Nyesom Wike but rather a reminder of his leadership responsibilities.

“It’s just for Wike to be seeing, we are not fighting him. Let him just see so that he will remember, maybe he has forgotten. He’s preparing for the 2027 election, but he has forgotten. He’s stressed, he nearly fell from the plane. He’s stressed. So we will give you one week,” he said.

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