The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has directed primary and secondary school teachers across the six area councils to embark on an indefinite strike from Monday, April 20, 2026, over the non-release and non-implementation of a report on outstanding entitlements by the FCT Administration.

The chairman of the FCT NUT, Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Shafas, who addressed journalists late Friday after an emergency State Wing Executive Council (SWEC) meeting at the Teachers House in Gwagwalada, also demanded the removal of “vacancy” as a precondition for the promotion of classroom teachers.He further demanded a comprehensive review of the 2004 promotion exercise conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission to allow eligible teachers advance without hindrance.

Shafas said the strike was necessitated by the failure of the FCT Administration to explain the delay in implementing the committee’s report and its continued silence on the demands of teachers amid prevailing economic hardship.

He noted that a committee constituted by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, on July 7, 2025, was mandated to harmonise all outstanding entitlements of primary school teachers within two weeks and make recommendations for a lasting solution to recurring industrial disputes.

The committee, he said, submitted its report in August 2025, but it has yet to be made public.

According to him, despite the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum on March 19, 2026, and an additional 28-day grace period granted to the authorities to address the issues, there has been no concrete response from the administration.

“And it was on this premise that after exhaustive deliberations on the industrial issues that necessitated the seven-day ultimatum, and considering that the silence on the education in the territory, the meeting resolved that all public primary and secondary school teachers in the FCT shall with effect from Monday, 20, April, 2026, proceed on an indefnite strike until the demands of the union are met,” Shafas said.

The union, therefore, directed all affected teachers across the six area councils to comply with the directive.

It also advised parents to keep their children and wards at home until further notice.

Our reporter learnt that public primary and secondary schools across the FCT are scheduled to resume for the second term academic session on Monday, April 20, 2026. (Daily Trust)

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