FCT Labour Council Orders Open-Ended Shutdown Over Teachers’ Promotions

The Federal Capital Territory council of the Nigeria Labour Congress began an indefinite strike on Wednesday, October 7, directing public- and private-sector workers to remain away from their duty posts over unresolved disputes involving teachers’ promotions and welfare. The action followed the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the FCT Administration. At a State Executive Council meeting on October 6, the labour council rejected the administration’s response, which it described as unclear and inadequate.

The FCTA had not publicly responded to the strike declaration by the time of Punch Nigeria’s report. The central dispute is whether FCT teachers must wait for vacancies before being promoted. The NLC says that condition has contributed to years of career stagnation and should not apply to teachers employed specifically for classroom work.

In resolutions signed by FCT council chairman Knabayi Adalo, the union argued that teachers are neither core civil servants nor pool staff. It said the vacancy-based system was designed for pool officers and that teachers should advance in their careers when they become eligible, rather than only when posts open. The union is also demanding that teachers who became eligible for promotion in 2025 be permitted to sit for the relevant examination before or alongside candidates eligible in 2026.

Punch reported the demand as a request to reconsider the 2025 teachers, while Channels Television said the teachers should be allowed to take the examination before or alongside the following year’s candidates. Another dispute concerns directors who benefited from the Harmonised Teachers Retirement Age Act, 2022. The NLC wants redeployment and demotion letters issued to those directors withdrawn.

Channels also reported an additional demand for the immediate reinstatement of dissolved management teams at the FCT Secondary Education Board and the FCT Universal Basic Education Board. The labour council said the FCTA’s response did not address what it considers the core issue: the vacancy clause. It also said the administration had failed to deal with what the union called the unlawful or illegal redeployment of directors.

The council characterised the response as “neither clear, positive, nor genuine,” according to Channels. The strike directive covers government offices, schools, hospitals and other establishments, according to Channels Television, while Punch reported that workers in both the public and private sectors were instructed to stay at home until further notice. The NLC described the stoppage as total and indefinite rather than a limited warning action.

The council appealed to residents, especially parents, to bear with workers and urged civil-society organisations and other Nigerians to press the FCTA to resolve the dispute. It warned that the education sector could face “total collapse” if the issues remained unsettled. The supplied reports contain no indication of negotiations or a new response from the FCT Administration.