The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has told all workers, public and private, to stay away from work from Wednesday, 7 October, 2026. The union says the strike will last until its demands on teachers’ promotion and welfare are met.
Teachers’ promotion and welfare sit behind the strike. The FCT Administration (FCTA) had not publicly reacted when the report went to press.
The FCT Council of the NLC announced the indefinite strike in a statement signed by its chairman, Knabayi S. Adalo. It said the decision was taken on Tuesday at a State Executive Council meeting at Labour House, Abuja.
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The statement directed workers to stay at home until further notice.
“Consequently, all workers in the FCT – public and private – are directed to stay away from their duty posts and stay at home from 7th October, 2026, until further notice,” it read.
The council said the action would not be a warning strike.
“The strike will be total and indefinite,” it affirmed.
What the union wants
The union had earlier given the Minister of the FCT a seven-day ultimatum. The strike began after that period ended.
It listed three demands:
– Remove the vacancy precondition for the promotion of FCT teachers. This means a teacher can only be promoted when a vacancy exists.
– Reconsider eligible 2025 teachers so they can sit their promotion examination.
– Withdraw redeployment and demotion letters issued to directors who benefited from the Harmonised Teachers Retirement Age Act, 2022.
The NLC said the FCTA‘s reply to the ultimatum did not solve the problem.
“The FCTA’s response to our ultimatum was vague and did not address the core issue of the vacancy clause, including the unlawful demotion of directors,” the statement said.
Why the union rejects vacancy-based promotion
The council said teachers should not be placed under the vacancy-based promotion system meant for pool officers.
“We want to make it clear: Teachers are not core civil servants nor pool staff and cannot be subjected to vacancy-based promotion meant for pool officers,” it said.
It said teachers were employed to teach and should be promoted when their time comes.
The union also accused the FCTA of trying to keep industrial peace without dealing with what it called injustice against teachers.
“The FCTA’s attempt to sustain industrial harmony without addressing injustice is mere wishful thinking. There can be no peace without justice,” it stated.
The council appealed to parents and residents of the FCT to bear with workers during the strike. It also asked civil society groups and other Nigerians to prevail on the FCTA to meet the demands.
“We call on the general public, especially parents and residents of the FCT, to bear with us. We also call on civil society and well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the FCTA to do the right thing to save the education sector in the FCT from total collapse,” the statement said.
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