No fewer than 5,990 education officers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have commenced their 2026 promotion examinations following an intervention by the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike, which enabled staff previously unable to participate in the 2025 exercise to sit for the test.
The examination, which began on October 5, 2026, entered its sixth day on Monday, with education officers and teachers from Grade Levels 13 to 17 participating in the exercise.
The intervention also provided another opportunity for officers who missed the August 2025 promotion examination following a disruption that prevented them from sitting for the test.
Recall that the 2025 Promotion Examination was conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission in July, 2025 for staff across all cadres in the FCT Administration, including the Education Cadre.
However, while other officers sat for the promotion examination in their respective cadres, the officials of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, FCT wing mobilized and physically chased out the Education Officers who were writing their examinations from the hall on the two days allotted for Education Cadre.
Consequent upon appeals by the affected officers and the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC), Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS)-FCT Chapter and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the FCT Minister approved the rescheduling of the 2025 Promotion Examination for Education Officers.
Speaking during an inspection of the examination venue, the Head of the FCTA Civil Service, Nancy Sabanti Nathan, expressed satisfaction with the turnout and orderly conduct of the candidates.
She said Wike had approved the participation of the affected officers, describing the decision as a demonstration of the administration’s commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“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 remain orderly and approach the examination with seriousness, noting that promotion remained an important pathway to career advancement in the public service.
Nathan also explained that the availability of promotion slots at higher grade levels was limited by the structure of the civil service, which provides fewer positions as officers advance through the ranks.
She attributed some of the constraints to the implementation of the harmonised retirement age for teachers, which extended their service by five years and reduced retirement-related vacancies over the past four years.
However, she said opportunities remained available at lower cadres, urging candidates to perform well as promotions would be based on merit and available vacancies.
The Head of Service added that participating education officers would return to their respective schools after completing the examinations.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Emeka Ezeh, confirmed that approximately 5,990 education officers were participating in the current phase of the promotion exercise.
Ezeh commended the candidates for their turnout and orderly conduct since the examinations began on October 5, adding that the assessment covered officers seeking promotion from Grade Level 13 to 14 and up to Grade Level 17.
He warned the candidates against allowing themselves to be influenced by external interests or political considerations that could jeopardise their professional advancement.
The chairman reiterated the commission’s commitment to ensuring a transparent and merit-based promotion process.
Meanwhile, the President of the Joint Unions Action Congress (JUAC) for the FCTA and FCDA, Rifkatu Iortyer, said the exercise had proceeded smoothly, with administrative officers, accountants and other cadres completing their examinations before the current phase for education officers.
Iortyer expressed satisfaction that teachers who could not participate in the August 2025 examination had been given another opportunity to take the test.
She said the large turnout without disruption reflected the candidates’ determination to pursue their career progression despite the ongoing industrial action involving the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), FCT chapter.
The JUAC president, however, expressed concern about the impact 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.
She disclosed that union leaders were engaging in informal mediation efforts to resolve the disagreement, expressing optimism that dialogue would produce a mutually acceptable outcome.
Iortyer also appealed for calm among union members, saying sustained engagement between labour leaders and the administration could prevent further escalation.
On security, the Director of the FCTA Security Services Department, Adamu Gwary, said adequate arrangements had been put in place 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 participants that adequate measures would remain in place until the examinations were concluded.
Wike grants reprieve as 5,990 FCTA education officers sit for promotion exams