NLC threatens FCT strike over teachers’ promotion grievances

The Nigeria Labour Congress, Federal Capital Territory Council, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Capital Territory Administration to resolve three outstanding issues affecting teachers in the territory, warning that failure to do so would trigger an indefinite strike.

The ultimatum was contained in a letter dated September 8, 2026, addressed to the Minister of the FCT and signed by the Chairman of the NLC FCT Council, Knabayi S. Adalo.

The development comes about two months after FCT teachers protested the use of a vacancy requirement as a condition for promotion, disrupting the 2025 promotion examination for FCT Administration workers in Abuja.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers had argued that applying the vacancy criterion to teachers would stagnate their careers because they are not pool staff.

The latest dispute also touches on the implementation of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, which provides for the compulsory retirement of teachers at 65 years of age or after 40 years of pensionable service, whichever comes first.

The law expressly includes education officers within its definition of teachers.

The National Industrial Court, in a judgment delivered in July 2026, also ruled that the eight-year tenure policy for directors could not be applied to teachers and education officers in a manner that conflicted with the 2022 Act.

The court consequently nullified relevant 2026 circulars issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education insofar as they affected teachers and education officers.

Against this background, the NLC said its affiliate, the NUT, FCT Wing, had repeatedly engaged the FCT Civil Service Commission and other relevant authorities over the issues without achieving meaningful resolution.

One of the major grievances is the application of the “vacancy clause” to teachers who are field workers and non-pool staff.

The NLC said the policy had caused “serious career stagnation” and denied many teachers promotion to the next cadre.

The congress also demanded the reconsideration of teachers who were eligible to participate in the 2025 promotion examination but were barred from doing so.

According to the NLC, the ban had further worsened the morale of affected teachers, particularly as results of the 2025 promotion examination for other cadres had been released, and preparations for the 2026 exercise were already ongoing.

The labour body further protested the redeployment of Directors of Educational Agencies who are beneficiaries of the harmonised teachers’ retirement age back to the classroom, with their positions allegedly being replaced by junior officers.

It described the development as “demoralising, humiliating and an aberration to the Public Service Structure,” arguing that it was inimical to the effective administration of schools in the FCT.

The NLC said that despite several letters, meetings and a peaceful protest by the union, the FCT Administration had yet to take concrete steps to address the grievances.

Consequently, it demanded that the FCT Administration immediately remove the vacancy clause in the promotion of teachers; lift the ban on 2025 eligible teachers and allow them to sit for the promotion examination alongside the 2026 candidates; and withdraw letters redeploying directors of educational agencies to the classroom while restoring them to their previous positions.

The congress gave the FCT Administration seven days from the receipt of the letter to meet the demands.

It warned that failure to address the issues within the stipulated period would leave it with “no option but to direct all workers in the FCT to embark on an indefinite strike until our demands are met.”

The NLC, however, said it remained committed to dialogue and industrial peace, stressing that the continued neglect of the welfare of FCT teachers could no longer be tolerated.

Meanwhile, the FCT Secondary Education Board’s published promotion guidelines state that promotion is generally subject to the availability of vacancies, while eligible senior officers are required to sit for written examinations and meet other promotion criteria. This provides context to the teachers’ objection to the vacancy requirement, although the NLC is specifically challenging its application to FCT teachers.