The Federal Capital Territory has been thrown into an indefinite labour shutdown as the Nigeria Labour Congress orders workers to close schools, hospitals, government offices and other establishments over the unresolved promotion crisis involving FCT teachers.
The NLC FCT Council commenced the strike on Wednesday after rejecting the response of the FCT Administration to its seven-day ultimatum on the controversial promotion policy.
At the centre of the dispute is the FCTA’s requirement that teachers must have vacant positions before they can be promoted—a policy the labour body says has kept teachers stuck on the same career levels for years.
The council, in resolutions signed by its Chairman, Knabayi Adalo, argued that teachers employed by the FCT Universal Basic Education Board and FCT Secondary Education Board were recruited specifically to teach and should therefore be promoted when due.
It said the teachers should not be subjected to a vacancy-based promotion system meant for pool officers and core civil servants.
The NLC is also demanding that teachers who became eligible for promotion in 2025 be allowed to sit for their promotion examination before or alongside those eligible in 2026.
The labour body further demanded the withdrawal of redeployment and demotion letters issued to directors who benefited from the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
It also called for the immediate reinstatement of the dissolved management teams of the FCT SEB and UBEB.
The decision to shut down the FCT was taken at the council’s State Executive Council meeting on October 6, where labour leaders rejected the FCTA’s response to their demands.
The NLC described the response as “ambiguous and totally unacceptable,” accusing the administration of failing to address what it called the root cause of teachers’ career stagnation.
The council also faulted the FCTA for allegedly remaining silent on the disputed redeployment of directors.
The NLC warned that it would no longer tolerate what it described as policies that undermine the professional progression and welfare of FCT teachers.
