ABUJA: Thousands of public school pupils across the Federal Capital Territory FCT face an indefinite shutdown after teachers launched a fresh strike on Monday, with their union declaring it will not return to classrooms until the government addresses a mounting backlog of unpaid entitlements and stalled promotions.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) FCT Wing announced the industrial action following an emergency meeting of its State Wing Executive Council (SWEC) on Friday, directing all public primary and secondary school teachers across the territory to stay away from school with effect from April 20, 2026. Parents have been advised to “keep their children and wards in Primary and Secondary Schools safe at home until further notice.”
The strike is the culmination of months of frustration. The union had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Honourable Minister on March 11, which expired on March 19 — yet teachers say they were met with silence. Even after granting an additional 28-day grace period, the SWEC says there has been “no tangible response from the authorities to all the industrial issues raised.”
At the heart of the dispute are two key demands: the release and implementation of a committee report on outstanding teacher entitlements, and the removal of what the union calls an unjust “vacancies” precondition blocking classroom teachers from being promoted. The union is also calling for a full review of the 2024 promotion exercise conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission.
The committee at the centre of the row was established by the Minister himself. Constituted on July 7, 2025 — just days before a previous 14-week teachers’ strike was suspended — it was given a two-week mandate to “harmonize all outstanding entitlements of Primary School Teachers and make appropriate recommendations that would lead to a permanent solution to the frequent industrial disputes involving FCT Primary School Teachers.” The committee completed its work and submitted its report in August 2025. Eight months later, the union says the report has still not been made public.
The SWEC acknowledged the Minister’s role in securing the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage and nine months’ salary arrears to primary school teachers, but warned that goodwill has its limits. The council described the continued silence on teachers’ welfare as “a threat to the stability of education in the territory.”
“After exhaustive deliberations,” the communiqué reads, the meeting “resolved that all Public Primary and Secondary School Teachers in the FCT shall, with effect from Monday, 20th April 2026, proceed on an indefinite Strike until the demands of the Union are met.”
The strike was signed off by State Chairman Com. Abdullahi M. Shafa, State Secretary Com. Margaret F. Jethro, and State Publicity Secretary Com. Ibukun Adekeye.
With no talks currently scheduled and the government yet to respond publicly to the union’s ultimatum, FCT parents face an uncertain wait — and thousands of children an empty start to their school week.
