• As JUAC urges minister, NUT to resolve strike through dialogue
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No fewer than 5,990 education officers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have been given another opportunity to sit for their promotion examinations after missing the 2025 exercise following a disruption allegedly caused by officials of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT chapter.
The rescheduled examination, which began on October 5, followed the intervention of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who approved a fresh opportunity for the affected officers to pursue career advancement after their previous attempt was disrupted.
The affected officers, comprising teachers and other education personnel on Grade Levels 13 to 17, are participating in the ongoing 2026 promotion examination, which entered its sixth day on Monday.
The 2025 promotion examination, conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission in July of that year, was meant for staff across all cadres of the administration. However, education officers reportedly could not complete their examinations after NUT officials allegedly mobilised and forced candidates out of the examination hall on the two days allocated to the education cadre.
Following appeals by the affected officers and labour groups, including the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC), the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), FCT chapter, and the NUT, Wike approved the rescheduling of the examination.
Speaking during an inspection of the examination venue, the Head of the FCTA Civil Service, Nancy Sabanti Nathan, said she was pleased with the turnout and orderly conduct of the candidates, describing the minister’s intervention as an opportunity to restore the hopes of officers who had missed the previous exercise.
“I am so happy that they came out in this number for their examination. The last time, some of them were swept into the protest and could not write.
“But the Honourable Minister, in the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda, renewed their hope by approving that they should come and write the exams,” Nathan said.
She urged the candidates to take the examination seriously, stressing that promotion remained an important pathway to career progression in the public service.
Nathan, however, cautioned that promotion to higher grade levels was constrained by the limited number of available positions as officers advanced through the civil service structure.
She attributed part of the constraint to the implementation of the harmonised retirement age for teachers, which extended their years of service by five years and reduced the number of vacancies arising from retirement over the past four years.
According to her, while promotion opportunities remain available, candidates must perform well and meet the requirements for advancement, as promotions will depend on merit and available vacancies.
She added that participating education officers would return to their respective schools after completing the examinations.
The Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Emeka Ezeh, confirmed that approximately 5,990 education officers were participating in the exercise, covering promotions from Grade Level 13 to 14 and up to Grade Level 17.
Ezeh commended the candidates for their turnout and orderly conduct since the examination commenced, urging them not to allow external interests or political considerations to jeopardise their professional advancement.
He reiterated the commission’s commitment to a transparent, credible and merit-based promotion process.
Meanwhile, the President of JUAC for the FCTA and Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Rifkatu Iortyer, said the examination had proceeded smoothly, noting that administrative officers, accountants and other cadres had completed their examinations before the current phase for education officers.
She expressed satisfaction that teachers who missed the August 2025 examination had been given another opportunity to sit for the test.
Iortyer said the large turnout without disruption demonstrated the candidates’ determination to advance their careers despite the ongoing industrial action involving the NUT and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), FCT chapter.
She, however, expressed concern over the effect of the labour dispute on academic activities, urging the unions and FCTA management to return to the negotiating table in the interest of pupils and students.
The JUAC president disclosed that union leaders were pursuing informal mediation efforts to resolve the disagreement, expressing optimism that dialogue would produce a mutually acceptable outcome.
She also appealed for calm among union members, warning against further escalation and urging sustained engagement between labour leaders and the administration.
On security, the Director of the FCTA Security Services Department, Adamu Gwary, said adequate arrangements had been made to ensure the peaceful conduct of the examinations.
He explained that security personnel had established accreditation checkpoints from the entrance gates to the examination halls to manage the large number of candidates.
Gwary attributed the orderly conduct of the exercise to security planning and the cooperation of the candidates, assuring them that the arrangements would remain in place until the examinations were concluded.
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