By Atlantic Reports

At least 5,900 education officers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) are taking the 2026 promotion examination despite an ongoing strike by FCT workers.

The examination, organised by the FCT Civil Service Commission, includes teachers who were unable to participate in the 2025 exercise.

FCTA Head of Civil Service, Mrs Nancy Nathan, described attendance as impressive while monitoring the examination in Abuja on Monday.

“It is good to see that the teachers have prioritised their long-term career advancement by turning out to sit for the examination,” she said.

Nathan said some candidates had missed the previous examination, held in August, after Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) officials protesting the use of available vacancies as a condition for promotion allegedly removed them from the hall.

That account was not accompanied by a response from the NUT in the supplied material.

She said FCT Minister Nyesom Wike had directed that the affected teachers be included in the 2026 exercise.

Addressing concerns about promotion opportunities, Nathan said vacancies became fewer at higher grades because of the civil service’s staffing structure.

She also attributed limited vacancies over the past four years to the extension of teachers’ retirement age by five years, which she said had temporarily slowed retirements.

According to Nathan, opportunities remained available for officers progressing through the lower cadres up to Grade Level 14.

“The promotions will be strictly merit-based, and educators will return to their classrooms immediately they finished their assessments,” she said.

The account did not specify the number of promotion vacancies or explain how examination results would be applied where qualified candidates exceeded available positions.

The Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Mr Emeka Ezeh, commended candidates’ participation since the exercise began on 5 October. He urged educators to avoid external influences that could undermine their professional advancement.

The President of the Joint Unions Action Congress (JUAC) for FCTA and Federal Capital Development Authority workers, Rifkatu Iortyer, welcomed the inclusion of teachers who missed the 2025 assessment.

On the strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress’s FCT Council, Iortyer said JUAC was facilitating informal discussions between labour leaders and FCTA management to resolve the dispute and minimise disruption to students’ learning.

Iortyer also urged calm over the “no work, no pay” policy invoked by Wike, expressing confidence that dialogue could produce a mutually acceptable outcome.

No agreement ending the strike was announced in the account.

The Director of the FCTA Security Services Department, Mr Adamu Gwary, said the examination had proceeded peacefully following the deployment of security personnel.

He said accreditation checkpoints between the main gates and examination halls were used to manage access and crowd movement.

While the assessment offers education officers an opportunity for career progression, the continuing labour dispute leaves the resumption of normal services dependent on negotiations between workers and the administration.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.