Academic activities have been disrupted in public primary and secondary schools across the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory as teachers began an indefinite strike on Wednesday over unresolved issues concerning promotion, career progression and welfare.
The strike followed the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the FCT Administration by the Nigeria Labour Congress, FCT Council.
The NLC had directed its members to withdraw their services from October 7 after its State Executive Council reviewed the administration’s response to the ultimatum and declared it unsatisfactory.
Among the union’s demands are the removal of the vacancy requirement for the promotion of FCT teachers, allowing teachers eligible for the 2025 promotion examination to sit for it before or alongside the 2026 candidates, and the withdrawal of redeployment or demotion letters issued to directors affected by the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
The union also called for the dissolution of the management teams of the FCT Secondary Education Board and the FCT Universal Basic Education Board, as well as the reinstatement of affected officials.
The FCT NLC, led by Stephen Knabayi, said the administration’s response failed to address the vacancy clause, which it blamed for career stagnation and demoralisation among teachers.
The council subsequently directed workers across the FCT, including those in the public and private sectors, to commence an indefinite strike until its demands were addressed.
Checks across the territory showed that the action disrupted learning in several schools. At Government Junior Secondary School, Nahari, in Abaji Area Council, some students were in classrooms without teachers, while others gathered around the premises. The nearby LEA Primary School also had no teachers conducting lessons.
In Kwali, only a few teachers and pupils were seen at Bonugo LEA Primary School, while no lessons were taking place. At LEA Demonstration Primary School, Gwagwalada, pupils were seen playing as teachers discussed the strike.
Government Secondary School, Gwagwalada, was locked, with some students reportedly turned back. Similar disruptions were recorded at schools in Kuje and Idu-Koro. Teachers at Idu-Koro cited unresolved promotion and welfare issues.
Like the students, parents have also expressed concern over the ongoing strike, particularly because the new academic term had just begun.
A parent, Mary Ebenezer, who said she took her two daughters to school but was asked to return them home, appealed to the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders to resolve the dispute.
The FCT Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association, Usman Abubakar, also urged the administration and labour unions to return to the negotiating table in the interest of pupils, students and parents.
Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), FCT Chapter, has dissociated itself from the strike and directed secondary school teachers and education officers to report for work.
In a statement issued after an emergency meeting on Wednesday, ASUSS described the strike as premature and harmful to educational stability. The union said that the vacancy requirement was a statutory provision under the Public Service Rules and that changes to career structures should be addressed through administrative dialogue.
It also said that the 2025 promotion exercise had been resolved and would run concurrently with the 2026 promotion cycle under the FCT Civil Service Commission.
ASUSS further defended the redeployment of directors of education agencies to classrooms as falling within management’s statutory powers. It warned that the strike could disrupt the scheduled 2025/2026 promotion examinations and urged eligible officers to participate according to the published timetable.
The union also called on parents to send their children to school and directed secondary school principals, vice-principals and education officers to keep schools open and ensure that teachers report for duty.
