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Wike approves rescheduled promotion examination for education officers affected by disruption of the 2025 exercise
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About 5,990 FCTA education officers are sitting for promotion from Grade Levels 13 to 17
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FCTA warns passing examination does not guarantee promotion as vacancies shrink at senior levels
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Exercise holds amid labour dispute as JUAC pushes dialogue to restore normal academic activities
October 12, (THEWILL) – Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has reopened the promotion pathway for 5,990 education officers who were shut out of the 2025 promotion examination after union officials disrupted the exercise and forced candidates out of examination halls.
The affected officers are now participating in the rescheduled promotion examination following Wike’s approval after appeals by the workers and organised labour groups over the disruption that denied them the opportunity to complete the exercise last year.
THEWILL reports that the examination, which commenced on October 5, 2026, entered its sixth day on Monday, with education officers and teachers seeking promotion across Grade Levels 13 to 17 participating.
The development brings relief to officers whose career progression had been thrown into uncertainty following the disruption of the 2025 exercise.
The FCT Civil Service Commission had conducted the 2025 Promotion Examination for workers across various cadres of the FCT Administration, including education officers.
While employees in other cadres sat for their examinations, the exercise for education officers was disrupted when officials of the FCT wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) mobilised and forced candidates out of examination halls on the two days allocated to the education cadre.
The disruption prevented affected officers from completing the examination, prompting appeals for the FCT Administration to provide another opportunity rather than allow their promotion prospects to be determined by circumstances surrounding the industrial dispute.
Following representations by the affected workers, the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC), Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), FCT Chapter, and the NUT, Wike approved the rescheduling of the examination.
Inspecting the exercise, the Head of the FCTA Civil Service, Nancy Sabanti Nathan, said the minister’s intervention had restored an opportunity for officers who could not participate successfully in the previous exercise.
Nathan expressed satisfaction with the turnout and orderly conduct of the candidates.
“I am so happy that they came out in this number for their examination. The last time, some of them were swept into the protest and could not write.
“But the Honourable Minister, in the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda, renewed their hope by approving that they should come and write the exams,” she said.
Nathan urged the candidates to take the exercise seriously, stressing that promotion remained an important route to career progression in the public service.
She, however, cautioned that success in the examination would not necessarily translate into automatic promotion, particularly for officers seeking advancement to senior grade levels.
According to her, the structure of the civil service means that available positions become fewer as officers climb the career ladder, making vacancies an important factor in determining promotions.
Nathan said the situation had been compounded by the implementation of the harmonised retirement age for teachers, which extended their service by five years.
The policy, she explained, had reduced the number of vacancies created through retirement over the past four years, consequently restricting promotion opportunities at some senior levels.
She said there were, however, more vacancies in the lower cadres and encouraged candidates to perform well, stressing that promotion would be determined by merit and the availability of positions.
The Head of Service added that the education officers would return to their respective schools after completing the examination.
Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Emeka Ezeh, confirmed that about 5,990 education officers were participating in the current phase of the promotion exercise.
Ezeh said the examination covered officers seeking advancement from Grade Level 13 to 14 and through the ranks to Grade Level 17.
He commended the candidates for the large turnout and orderly conduct recorded since the exercise commenced on October 5.
Ezeh also warned the officers against allowing external interests or political considerations to interfere with their careers, saying the commission remained committed to a transparent and merit-based promotion process.
President of the Joint Unions Action Congress for the FCTA and Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Rifkatu Iortyer, said the overall promotion exercise had proceeded smoothly.
According to her, administrative officers, accountants and employees in other cadres had completed their examinations before the current phase involving education officers.
Iortyer welcomed the fresh opportunity given to teachers and other education officers who were unable to participate in the previous exercise, saying the large turnout demonstrated their determination to advance their careers despite the prevailing labour dispute.
She expressed concern, however, over the continuing impact of the disagreement involving the NUT and the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on academic activities.
Iortyer urged the unions and FCTA management to return to the negotiating table in the interest of pupils and students whose education could suffer from a prolonged dispute.
She disclosed that union leaders were undertaking informal mediation efforts aimed at resolving the disagreement and expressed optimism that sustained dialogue could produce a mutually acceptable resolution.
She also appealed for calm among workers, arguing that engagement between organised labour and the FCT Administration offered the best opportunity to prevent further escalation.
Meanwhile, Director of the FCTA Security Services Department, Adamu Gwary, said adequate security measures had been deployed to ensure the peaceful conduct of the promotion examination.
Gwary said security personnel established accreditation checkpoints from the entrance gates to the examination halls to control access and manage the large number of candidates.
He attributed the orderly conduct recorded so far to security planning and cooperation from the candidates, assuring that the measures would remain in place until the exercise was concluded.
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Background
The latest exercise follows the controversy that surrounded the 2025 FCTA promotion examination, when education officers were prevented from completing the assessment that formed part of the process for their career advancement.
The FCT Civil Service Commission conducted the promotion examination for workers across the Administration, but the education cadre’s exercise was disrupted amid industrial action when NUT officials mobilised and forced officers taking the examination out of the halls.
That intervention effectively left the affected workers without the opportunity to complete the promotion assessment, raising concerns over the consequences for their career progression.
Appeals subsequently came from the affected officers and labour bodies, including JUAC, ASUSS and the NUT, seeking a fresh opportunity for them to sit the examination.
Wike’s approval of a rescheduled exercise eventually cleared the way for the affected officers to return to the examination halls, with about 5,990 education personnel now participating.
The exercise is taking place against the backdrop of continuing labour tensions within the FCT education sector, with union leaders pressing for negotiations to resolve outstanding disputes and prevent further disruption of academic activities.
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