The FCT Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared an indefinite strike across the Federal Capital Territory over unresolved issues concerning the promotion of teachers.
The strike commenced on Wednesday, October 7, following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the FCT Administration (FCTA).
The labour council directed workers in the public and private sectors to shut down schools, hospitals, government offices and other establishments across the territory.
The dispute centres on the FCTA’s requirement that vacancies must be available before teachers can be promoted. The NLC said the policy had contributed to years of career stagnation among teachers and was not applicable to the teaching profession.
In resolutions signed by its Chairman, Knabayi Adalo, the council 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 “as and when due.”
The NLC also demanded that teachers who became eligible for promotion in 2025 be allowed to sit for their promotion examination alongside or before the 2026 candidates.
The council further called for the withdrawal of redeployment and demotion letters issued to directors who benefited from the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
It also demanded the immediate reinstatement of the dissolved management teams of the FCT SEB and FCT UBEB.
The decision to commence the strike was taken at the council’s State Executive Council meeting held on October 6 at the NLC FCT Secretariat.
At the meeting, the labour body rejected the FCTA’s response to its ultimatum, describing it as “neither clear, positive, nor genuine.”
According to the SEC, the response failed to address the vacancy requirement, which it described as the “root cause of career stagnation,” and was also silent on what the council called the “illegal redeployment of directors.”
“The response of the FCTA is ambiguous and totally unacceptable,” the SEC said.
The council added that it “will no longer tolerate the continued dehumanisation of FCT teachers through obnoxious policies alien to the teaching profession.”