The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Federal Capital Territory Council, has given the Federal Capital Territory Administration seven days to resolve outstanding grievances involving teachers or face an indefinite strike across the nation’s capital.
The ultimatum was issued in a letter dated September 8, 2026, and addressed to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Politics Nigeria reports that the letter was signed by the Chairman of the NLC FCT Council, Knabayi S. Adalo.
The labour body said the decision followed what it described as the continued failure of the FCT Administration to address issues raised by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing.
The dispute centres mainly on the promotion of teachers, the treatment of directors in educational agencies and the application of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.
The NLC warned that unless the issues are resolved within the seven-day period, it would mobilise workers in the FCT for an indefinite industrial action.
Recall the fresh escalation of a dispute that became public in July when FCT teachers protested the use of vacancy as a condition for promotion.
The teachers had disrupted the 2025 promotion examination for FCT Administration workers in Abuja, arguing that they should not be subjected to the same vacancy-based promotion system applicable to mainstream civil servants.
At the time, the NUT maintained that teachers are not pool staff and therefore should not be prevented from progressing in their careers simply because a vacant position is unavailable.
The union argued that teachers work directly in schools and can continue to perform their duties after moving to a higher grade level.
It therefore demanded that promotion should be based on eligibility, merit and performance in the required examination.
The NLC has now taken up the matter, saying previous engagements between the NUT, the FCT Civil Service Commission and other authorities have not produced the desired result.
One of the major demands is the immediate removal of the vacancy requirement from the promotion of teachers.
The congress said the policy had resulted in “serious career stagnation” for teachers who had met the conditions for promotion but could not move to the next cadre because of the vacancy requirement.
The labour body also demanded that teachers who were qualified to participate in the 2025 promotion examination but were prevented from doing so should be allowed to take the examination.
It said the affected teachers should be considered alongside candidates for the 2026 promotion exercise.
The NLC said the situation had become more concerning because the results of the 2025 promotion examination for other categories of FCT workers had been released, while preparations for the 2026 exercise were already underway.
It argued that leaving eligible teachers out of the process would further widen the gap between them and other public servants and prolong the career stagnation complained about by the NUT.
The controversy dates back to the July protest when teachers gathered at the National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja, where the promotion examination for thousands of FCT Administration workers was scheduled to hold.
The protest led to a disruption of the examination involving FCT workers.
The NUT had demanded the removal of the vacancy condition and the implementation of outstanding promotion decisions.
The union also complained about delays in releasing promotion letters and the failure to promote some teachers who had already satisfied the requirements.
During the July dispute, FCT Civil Service Commission Chairman, Emeka Ezeh, defended the existing system, saying the commission was operating under approved guidelines.
“The system of government is guided by rules, and the commission is only implementing the guidelines for promotion,” he said.
Ezeh also maintained that promotion could not be granted without an available vacancy because of the financial and establishment implications involved.
The position has, however, failed to settle the dispute, with the NLC now threatening wider industrial action.
Another issue raised by the congress concerns directors of educational agencies who are beneficiaries of the harmonised retirement age for teachers.
The NLC protested their redeployment to classrooms while their positions were allegedly being occupied by junior officers.
It described the development as “demoralising, humiliating and an aberration to the Public Service Structure.”
The congress argued that the affected directors should be restored to their previous positions and that the FCT Administration should stop actions that undermine the status of education officers covered by the teachers’ retirement law.
The issue has also gained legal significance following a recent judgment of the National Industrial Court.
In July 2026, the court ruled that the Federal Government’s eight-year tenure policy for directors could not be applied to teachers and education officers in a way that contradicted the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.
The judgment followed a case brought by Rakiya Gambo Iliyasu, an education officer and director in the Federal Ministry of Education.
Justice Olufunke Anuwe held that teachers and education officers covered by the law are entitled to remain in service until they attain 65 years of age or complete 40 years of pensionable service, whichever comes first.
The court consequently declared the relevant 2026 circulars invalid to the extent that they applied to teachers and education officers.
The judgment also restrained the Federal Government from compulsorily retiring teachers in a manner inconsistent with the 2022 Act.
The congress is therefore asking the FCT Administration to withdraw letters redeploying directors of educational agencies to classrooms and restore them to their previous positions.
It also wants the administration to lift the restriction on teachers who were eligible for the 2025 promotion examination and allow them to participate in the promotion process.
The three key demands are therefore the removal of the vacancy clause from teachers’ promotion, reconsideration of eligible teachers excluded from the 2025 examination, and reversal of the disputed redeployment of directors of educational agencies.
The NLC said it had made several attempts to resolve the issues through letters, meetings and peaceful engagement.
It added that the failure of those efforts had left organised labour with little room to continue waiting.