The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, FCT wing, has kicked against the “vacancy precondition” for promotion of teachers in the territory’s Civil Service, describing the newly released promotion examination timetable as a threat to the career progression of teachers.
The union said the timetable released by the FCT Civil Service Commission, CSC, which indicates “No Vacancy” for education officers seeking promotion from Grade Level 14 to 15, 15 to 16 and 16 to 17, could effectively stagnate teachers at Grade Level 14.
The NUT FCT Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ibikun Adekeye, in a release on Thursday, described the development as an “assault” on teachers and a sign that the welfare of the teaching workforce was not being given adequate consideration.
Adekeye said the timetable implied that teachers could be denied career progression irrespective of their years of service, qualifications and experience in the classroom.
He said, “What the commission has presented is not promotion but stagnation. It tells FCT teachers that no matter their years of sacrifice, qualifications and service in the classrooms, a teacher may not rise beyond Level 14.
“What sin have teachers committed? The commission claims there is no vacancy at the top. Yet they expect our unions to keep quiet. This is false and wicked.”
Adekeye further argued that the policy was inconsistent with efforts to improve the quality of education, saying teachers who were denied career progression could become demoralised.
“You cannot claim to prioritise education while you deliberately frustrate the people who deliver education. A demoralised, stagnated teacher cannot give his best to the Nigerian child,” he said.
He described the development as a “declaration of war on the teaching profession in FCT”, calling on stakeholders and “all lovers of education” to oppose what he described as the planned stagnation of teachers.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the FCT has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the territory to suspend its planned protest over the lingering disagreement between the NUT and the Civil Service Commission on the vacancy precondition.
The Acting Head of the FCT Civil Service, Nancy Sabanti Nathan, made the appeal in a letter dated September 15, 2026, addressed to the NLC and NUT, copies of which were obtained by Abuja Metro on Thursday.
Nathan urged the labour unions to suspend further action pending the return of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who is currently out of the country.
The letter followed a seven-day ultimatum issued by the FCT NLC after a meeting of its State Executive Council, led by its chairman, Comrade Stephen Knabayi.
The FCT NLC had threatened to embark on a protest over several issues, including the use of vacancy as a precondition for promotion, the alleged exclusion of teachers who were eligible for promotion examinations in 2025, and the redeployment of directors to classrooms and their replacement with junior officers by the FCT Civil Service Commission.
Knabayi confirmed to our reporter by telephone on Thursday that the labour union had extended its ultimatum until September 31, 2026, following the letter from the Office of the FCT Head of the Civil Service.
