Public primary and secondary school teachers across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have returned to classrooms after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) suspended their three-week industrial action.
The indefinite strike, which had shuttered public schools across Abuja since 7th October, 2026, was officially called off following extensive conciliation talks between the NLC FCT State Council, the NUT, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. Directing teachers to resume duties immediately, NLC FCT Council Chairman Knabayi Adalo stated that the suspension followed substantive administrative concessions granted by the government.
Unlike previous industrial disputes driven by wage arrears, the shutdown stemmed from career stagnation and contentious administrative directives imposed by the FCTA. Teachers protested a controversial “vacancy precondition” rule that made promotions contingent on existing desk vacancies rather than merit and tenure – a restriction union leaders argued created severe promotion backlogs in a school system already burdened by ratios of 70 to 80 pupils per teacher. The dispute was further inflamed by delays in conducting the 2025 promotion examinations and the sudden redeployment of senior school administrators and agency directors back to classroom teaching.
Under the signed agreement, the FCT Civil Service Commission agreed to step down the restrictive vacancy criteria and establish definitive examination timetables for the 2025 promotion candidates. The FCTA also halted the contentious demotion and redeployment of senior officers who benefited from the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, pending a comprehensive policy review. Additionally, organised labour secured a binding “no-victimisation” clause protecting all participating educators from queries, salary withholding, or administrative reprisals.
Adalo announced the formation of a joint strike compliance monitoring committee to track implementation milestones, warning that if the FCTA reneges on agreed timelines, teachers will resume the strike without further notice.
