No fewer than 5,990 education officers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration have begun their 2026 promotion examinations following an intervention by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
This was contained in a statement shared with our correspondent on Monday by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Lere Olayinka.
According to the statement, the intervention provided another chance for officers who were “previously unable to participate in the 2025 exercise to sit for the test.”
The examination, which commenced on October 5, entered its sixth day on Monday, with teachers and other education officers on Grade Levels 13 to 17 participating.
The intervention followed the disruption of the 2025 promotion examination for education officers after officials of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, FCT chapter, allegedly chased candidates out of the examination hall on the two days allotted to the education cadre.
The 2025 promotion examination was conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission in July for officers across various cadres in the administration.
However, following appeals by the affected officers and labour groups, including the Joint Union Action Committee, the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, FCT chapter, and the NUT, Wike approved a rescheduled examination for the 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 the minister’s intervention had given the affected officers another opportunity to advance their careers.
“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 take the examinations seriously, noting that promotion was an important aspect of career progression in the public service.
Nathan, however, explained that promotion opportunities at higher grade levels were limited by the structure of the civil service, which provided fewer positions as officers advanced 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 the number of vacancies created by retirements over the past four years.
The Head of Service said opportunities remained available at the lower cadres, urging candidates to perform well, as promotions would depend on merit and available vacancies.
She added that the 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 exercise.
Ezeh commended the candidates for their turnout and orderly conduct since the examinations began on October 5.
He said the exercise covered officers seeking promotion from Grade Level 13 to Grade Level 14 and those aspiring to reach Grade Level 17.
The commission chairman warned candidates against allowing external interests or political considerations, “that could jeopardise their professional advancement.”
He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to a transparent and merit-based promotion process.
Meanwhile, the President of the Joint Unions Action Congress 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 welcomed the decision to give teachers who missed the August 2025 examination another opportunity to take the test.
She said the large turnout without disruption demonstrated the candidates’ determination to pursue career advancement despite the ongoing industrial action involving the NUT and the Nigeria Labour Congress in the FCT.
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,” the statement read.
Iortyer also appealed for calm among union members, saying sustained engagement between labour leaders and the administration could prevent further escalation.