By Bilkisu M. Usman

The Lafia Zone of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), last week, organised prayer sessions asking God to intervene in the on-going negotiations for the implementation of the Teachers Salary Structure (TSS).

The special prayer session which took place at the Dunama Pilot Science School, Lafia, was conducted jointly by Muslim and Christian members of the union who took turns to read from the Qur’an and the Bible.

In an interview with the Nigerian Newsday, the chairman of the NUT in Lafia zone, Malam Muhammad Haliru Alabo, said it was not their wish to remain at home, saying the strike embarked upon by the union members was the only way to draw government’s attention to their plight.

He said "teachers are supposed to be first among other civil servants that should be properly taken care of by governments".

Malam Abdullahi Aliyu, an Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) supervisor said the aim of the prayer session was to pray to God to prevail on the government to meet up with the demand of the teachers.

Victor Ahmefule, a school supervisor in Lafia zone said the primary objective of the prayer was to ask God to touch the hearts of those in leadership positions with a view to making them to pay attention to the plight of teachers.