ABUJA — The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed all affiliate unions across public institutions, schools, and government offices in Abuja to commence a total and indefinite strike with immediate effect.
The declaration was issued in a communique signed by the NLC FCT Council Chairman, Comrade Knabayi S. Adalo, following the expiration of an earlier ultimatum issued to the FCT Administration (FCTA) over lingering career progression disputes affecting primary and secondary school teachers.
Labor leaders rejected the response provided by the FCTA regarding the disputes, describing the administration’s position as ambiguous, dismissive, and entirely unacceptable to affected workers.
Central to the crisis is the NLC’s demand for the immediate removal of the “vacancy clause” in promotion exercises, the conduct of delayed promotion examinations for eligible 2025 teachers, the reversal of punitive worker redeployments, and the immediate reinstatement of displaced management teams under the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) and Secondary Education Board (SEB).
The union argued that teachers recruited under specialized educational boards are not core civil service pool staff and should not be subjected to vacancy-based promotion caps, warning that failure to address the policy will lead to severe career stagnation and the total collapse of the territory’s public education sector.
With enforcement monitoring committees activated across the territory, public primary and secondary schools, municipal council secretariats, and government administrative offices across Abuja have begun shutting down services as worker compliance takes hold.
