ABUJA, Nigeria — 8 October 2026: Teachers and parents in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory face competing union instructions after the Nigeria Labour Congress began an indefinite strike on Wednesday, 7 October, over teacher promotions. The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools has opposed the action and told its members to return to work.
Channels Television’s account of the NLC resolutions says the labour council called on public- and private-sector workers to withdraw their services. That directive does not, by itself, establish that every school, hospital or office in the territory has closed.
Are all FCT schools closed because of the strike? The NLC has called an indefinite strike over teachers’ promotion rules, but ASUSS has instructed secondary-school teachers to resume work. A blanket closure of every school has not been established. Parents should confirm attendance, lessons and examinations directly with their child’s school.
Why the NLC called the strike
The main dispute concerns a vacancy requirement: whether teachers can be promoted only when a suitable position is available. The NLC argues that this condition has held back teachers’ careers and should not apply to people recruited specifically to teach.
Voice of Nigeria reports that the council’s communiqué was signed by its chairman, Knabayi Adalo. The union distinguishes teachers employed by the FCT Universal Basic Education Board and Secondary Education Board from civil servants whose careers move through a broader pool of posts.
Its demands also cover teachers eligible for the 2025 promotion examination. It wants those candidates to sit before, or alongside, the 2026 group. Another demand concerns the withdrawal of redeployment and demotion letters affecting directors who benefited from the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
The NLC describes these issues as unresolved. That is the union’s assessment, rather than an independent ruling that the administration has breached the law.
ASUSS gives teachers a different instruction
The disagreement extends beyond the NLC and the administration. The FCT wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers told primary- and secondary-school teachers to stay home, according to Punch’s report of the competing directives.
EDUCATION
FCT Strike Over Teacher Promotions: What Parents and Workers Must Know
Oct 8, 2026
Oct 8, 2026
5 min read
Published
Updated:
ABUJA, Nigeria — 8 October 2026: Teachers and parents in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory face competing union instructions after the Nigeria Labour Congress began an indefinite strike on Wednesday, 7 October, over teacher promotions. The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools has opposed the action and told its members to return to work.
Channels Television’s account of the NLC resolutions says the labour council called on public- and private-sector workers to withdraw their services. That directive does not, by itself, establish that every school, hospital or office in the territory has closed.
Are all FCT schools closed because of the strike? The NLC has called an indefinite strike over teachers’ promotion rules, but ASUSS has instructed secondary-school teachers to resume work. A blanket closure of every school has not been established. Parents should confirm attendance, lessons and examinations directly with their child’s school.
Why the NLC called the strike
The main dispute concerns a vacancy requirement: whether teachers can be promoted only when a suitable position is available. The NLC argues that this condition has held back teachers’ careers and should not apply to people recruited specifically to teach.
Voice of Nigeria reports that the council’s communiqué was signed by its chairman, Knabayi Adalo. The union distinguishes teachers employed by the FCT Universal Basic Education Board and Secondary Education Board from civil servants whose careers move through a broader pool of posts.
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Its demands also cover teachers eligible for the 2025 promotion examination. It wants those candidates to sit before, or alongside, the 2026 group. Another demand concerns the withdrawal of redeployment and demotion letters affecting directors who benefited from the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
The NLC describes these issues as unresolved. That is the union’s assessment, rather than an independent ruling that the administration has breached the law.
ASUSS gives teachers a different instruction
The disagreement extends beyond the NLC and the administration. The FCT wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers told primary- and secondary-school teachers to stay home, according to Punch’s report of the competing directives.
ASUSS chairman Julius Ogundiran instead instructed secondary-school teachers and education officers to report for their normal duties. He argued that industrial action was premature and would harm students’ education.
On promotions, ASUSS maintains that the vacancy condition remains part of the Public Service Rules and should be addressed through administrative engagement. It also says arrangements for the affected 2025 promotion candidates have already received administrative attention.
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Voice of Nigeria’s separate ASUSS report records the union directing principals, vice-principals and education officers to keep schools open. It says the 2025 promotion exercise would run with the 2026 cycle under the FCT Civil Service Commission, citing September circulars.
Those statements demonstrate conflicting instructions. They do not prove that every teacher has followed either union’s position, or that normal lessons are taking place at every secondary school.
What the administration had already communicated
A News Agency of Nigeria report carried by P.M. News describes a letter dated 29 September from FCTA Head of Civil Service Nancy Nathan. It says FCT Minister Nyesom Wike directed a stay of action on the concerns raised and instructed the Civil Service Commission to reschedule the 2025 promotion examination for affected education officers.
The report also records an undertaking to address other outstanding matters. Adalo, however, said the response did not resolve the vacancy condition or the disputed treatment of senior directors.
This earlier correspondence should not be confused with a settlement ending the strike. Punch’s report published on 8 October said the FCTA had not publicly reacted to the strike declaration by its publication deadline. That observation applies to the report’s deadline, not every subsequent hour.
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What parents, teachers and other workers should check
Parents should ask their school whether lessons, scheduled assessments and transport arrangements are proceeding. A school-specific message is more useful than a forwarded claim that all Abuja schools are closed. If children are already at school, confirm collection arrangements directly with staff.
Teachers should distinguish classroom attendance instructions from examination arrangements. Where a promotion assessment is scheduled, check the official timetable and any recognised update from the commission or employing authority. Do not assume that a strike announcement automatically cancels an assessment.
The NLC’s call reaches beyond schools to other workplaces, but a call to withdraw services is different from a verified account of operating conditions. Workers and patients should confirm arrangements with the relevant employer or facility before travelling.
The action has no announced end date in the cited strike directive. The next decisive development would be an agreed resolution, a formal suspension by the union or revised instructions from the responsible authorities. Until then, the practical question is how each institution is operating under the competing positions.
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