The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has suspended its indefinite strike in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) following fresh agreements with the FCT Administration (FCTA) over outstanding labour disputes affecting teachers and other education officers.
This was just as the union directed workers, particularly teachers, to resume duty on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, after negotiations produced resolutions on promotion, career stagnation and the redeployment of school directors.
Politics Nigeria reports that the decision was announced in a communiqué issued after a meeting of the NLC FCT State Executive Council (SEC), which reviewed the outcome of conciliatory meetings involving the FCTA, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the labour congress.
The strike, which began on October 7, followed the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued to the FCTA over the unresolved disputes.
Among the union’s demands were the removal of vacancy restrictions on the promotion of education officers, the reconsideration of eligible workers for the 2025 promotion examination and the withdrawal of redeployment and demotion letters issued to directors covered by the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.
During the industrial action, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declared a strict “no work, no pay” policy for striking workers.
Wike had described the strike as unwarranted and politically motivated, insisting that the union’s demands had been addressed and that the government was implementing the agreed measures.
He also directed the chairmen of the six area councils in the territory to enforce the policy against teachers and other civil servants who participated in the strike.
“We want to state categorically and let it be known to the public: this so-called strike declaration is political, and we will not accept it. There’s no basis for anybody to call for a strike. We don’t have any issue with the local government areas, local education authorities or the primary schools,” Wike had said.
However, the NLC said subsequent negotiations had produced resolutions on the disputed issues.
On promotion, the union said vacancy provisions for education officers would be aligned with establishment positions declared by the Education Secretariat. It added that the expected retirement of a sizeable number of directorate staff would create opportunities for the promotion of eligible officers.
The union also disclosed that a new date would be announced for the 2025 promotion examination to allow eligible candidates to participate, following approval by the FCT Executive Council.
On the redeployment of school directors, the NLC said the FCT Executive Council had directed that the redeployment of officers benefiting from the harmonised retirement age for teachers be suspended pending further directives.
Following the resolutions, the SEC declared the indefinite strike suspended with immediate effect and directed all affected workers to return to their duties on Wednesday.
The council also resolved to establish a monitoring committee to track the implementation of the agreements within the stipulated timelines.
It warned that failure to implement any of the resolutions would trigger an automatic resumption of the strike without further notice.
The NLC further assured workers that none would face victimisation or reprisals for participating in the industrial action.
The union thanked the FCTA, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the NUT FCT Wing, affiliate unions and workers in the territory for their solidarity and understanding throughout the strike.
It also commended FCT teachers for their “resoluteness and discipline” during the industrial action.