NLC Orders Indefinite Strike Across FCT Over Teachers’ Promotion Dispute

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Federal Capital Territory Council, has directed workers across the FCT to commence an indefinite strike from Wednesday, October 7, following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, over unresolved issues affecting teachers.

The directive was announced by the NLC FCT Council Chairman, Knabayi Adalo, after an emergency State Executive Council meeting. The union said the decision followed what it described as the failure of the FCT Administration to satisfactorily address its demands.

At the centre of the dispute is the use of a vacancy requirement as a condition for the promotion of teachers in the FCT. The labour body argues that teachers recruited through the FCT Universal Basic Education Board and the FCT Secondary Education Board are employed specifically as teachers and should not be subjected to promotion conditions applicable to pool officers.

The NLC is also demanding that teachers who were eligible for the 2025 promotion examination but were unable to participate should be allowed to sit for the examination alongside, or before, candidates for the 2026 exercise.

Another issue concerns directors in the FCT education system who benefited from the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022. The union wants the redeployment and demotion letters issued to affected directors withdrawn and their previous positions restored. It has also called for changes in the management of the FCT Secondary Education Board and the FCT Universal Basic Education Board.  

Following the unresolved issues, the NLC directed its affiliated unions to mobilise workers across the territory. The directive covers workers in the public and private sectors, including those in schools, hospitals, offices and other establishments, with the union calling for the affected workplaces to remain shut until its demands are addressed.  

The labour body has also constituted enforcement committees to monitor compliance with the industrial action across the six area councils of the FCT.

The NLC appealed to parents, residents and civil society organisations to support its position and urged the FCT Administration to resolve the dispute. The strike is expected to continue indefinitely until the outstanding issues are addressed.