By Our Correspondent<\/p>\n
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has rejected allegations of harassment against teachers, insisting that its ongoing education reforms are guided by civil service regulations, statutory provisions and efforts to strengthen the sector.<\/p>\n
The administration\u2019s position followed an opinion article by U. Ndagi titled \u201cLetters: Wike, stop harassing FCT teachers\u201d published on September 19, 2026, which raised concerns over some policies being implemented under the leadership of the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.<\/p>\n
Responding to the claims, a senior FCTA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the administration\u2019s decisions on staff redeployment, promotion processes and infrastructure projects across the six area councils were based on established laws and government guidelines, rather than personal interests or punitive measures.<\/p>\n
The official defended the decision to return some senior education administrators to classroom duties, citing Section II(e) of the implementation circular issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), which provides for the deployment of experienced personnel as classroom teachers or quality assurance officers.<\/p>\n
According to the official, the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act 2022, which extended teachers\u2019 service period to 40 years or 65 years of age, was introduced to retain experienced educators and ensure their expertise directly contributes to improving learning outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe extension of teachers\u2019 retirement age was specifically designed to keep experienced educators where they are most needed in the classroom. <\/p>\n
“Holding an administrative position does not exempt any educator from direct teaching responsibilities,\u201d the official stated.<\/p>\n
The FCTA official further explained that the expertise of senior teachers remained valuable to students across the territory and that their classroom engagement would help improve the quality of education.<\/p>\n
The administration also dismissed claims that recent changes at the FCT Secondary Education Board (SEB) and the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) were targeted actions, describing the adjustments as routine administrative measures aimed at promoting efficiency, accountability and institutional discipline.<\/p>\n
On the issue of promotions, the FCTA maintained that career advancement in the public service must follow approved structures, including statutory cadres, available vacancies, establishment limits and budgetary provisions.<\/p>\n
The development comes amid a brewing dispute between the FCTA and some teachers\u2019 unions, with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), FCT Council, and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, threatening an indefinite strike in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n
In a formal letter signed by NUT FCT Chairman, Comrade Abdullahi M. Shafa, and State Secretary, Comrade Margaret F. Jethro, the union argued that moving senior directors back to classrooms could negatively affect staff morale and disrupt administrative stability.<\/p>\n
The NUT also demanded the removal of the vacancy clause affecting promotions, restoration of teachers due for promotion in 2025, and suspension of the redeployment of senior officers to teaching roles.
\nSupporting the position of the unions, NLC FCT Council Chairman, Comrade Knabayi S. Adalo, issued an ultimatum warning that industrial action would commence if the grievances were not resolved.<\/p>\n
However, the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), FCT Chapter, an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has distanced itself from the proposed strike.<\/p>\n
ASUSS maintained that the FCTA has the legal authority to deploy personnel where necessary, adding that promotions in the civil service must remain tied to available vacancies, approved establishment positions and financial sustainability.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a recent judgment by the National Industrial Court has provided further legal interpretation on the redeployment controversy.<\/p>\n
The case involved a Grade Level 17 Education Officer and former Director at the Ministry of Defence, who challenged her reassignment to Command Secondary School, Ibadan, after attaining 61 years under the provisions of the 2022 Act.<\/p>\n
The court upheld the authority of public employers to redeploy staff based on administrative requirements, affirming that government institutions have the discretion to assign duties to employees.<\/p>\n
As the deadline issued by labour unions approaches, school administrators, teachers, parents and other stakeholders across the Federal Capital Territory are awaiting further developments from the FCTA on the dispute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has rejected allegations of harassment against teachers, insisting that its ongoing education reforms are guided by civil service regulations, statutory provisions and efforts to strengthen the sector. The administration\u2019s position followed an opinion article by U. Ndagi titled \u201cLetters: Wike, stop harassing FCT teachers\u201d published on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17858,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17857\/revisions\/17858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}