NLC begins indefinite strike in Abuja over alleged teachers’ career stagnation

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, has declared a total and indefinite strike, shutting down public and private sector operations across the nation’s capital, effective Wednesday.

The directive follows the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on September 8, 2026, demanding the resolution of long-standing welfare disputes affecting FCT teachers.

In a communique signed by the NLC FCT Council Chairman, Comrade Knabayi S. Adalo, the union rejected the FCTA’s response to the ultimatum, describing it as “ambiguous, dismissive and totally unacceptable.”

At the centre of the dispute is the FCTA’s implementation of a “vacancy clause,” which conditions teacher promotions on available vacancies.

The NLC argued that teachers are recruited specifically by the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (FCT UBEB) and the FCT Secondary Education Board (FCT SEB) to teach, making them distinct from core civil servants or pool staff.

The union insists that vacancy-based promotion schemes applied to pool officers lead to severe career stagnation and demoralisation for educators.

Its key demands include the immediate abolition of the vacancy clause as a requirement for teacher promotions; the inclusion of eligible 2025 candidates to write promotion examinations alongside or before 2026 candidates; and the reversal of redeployment and demotion letters issued to directors benefiting from the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022, alongside the dissolution and reinstatement of management teams at FCT SEB and FCT UBEB.

The Congress has directed all public and private sector workers, including affiliate unions across schools, hospitals, offices and government establishments, to stay away from work from October 7 until all demands are met.

Enforcement committees have been instructed to mobilise and monitor compliance across the territory.

“Teachers are not core civil servants nor pool staff and cannot be subjected to vacancy-based promotion meant for pool officers. The FCTA’s attempt to sustain industrial harmony without addressing injustice is mere wishful thinking.

“There can be no peace without justice,” Adalo said.

The NLC appealed to parents, residents and civil society organisations in the FCT to support the industrial action, warning that failure to act will lead to the total collapse of the territory’s education sector.