No fewer than 5,990 education officers in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have begun their 2026 promotion examinations following an intervention by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, which gave affected officers who missed the 2025 exercise another opportunity to sit the test.
The examination, which began on 5 October 2026, entered its sixth day on Monday, with teachers and education officers seeking promotion from Grade Level 13 to Grade Level 17 participating in the exercise.
The intervention followed the disruption of the 2025 promotion examinations, which prevented some education officers from completing their tests, even as officers in other cadres participated in the exercise.
The FCT Civil Service Commission conducted the 2025 promotion examinations in July that year for staff across various cadres of the FCTA, including the education cadre.
However, the examination for education officers was disrupted on the two days allocated to them after officials of the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) reportedly mobilised protesters who chased candidates out of the examination hall.
Following appeals by the affected officers and labour groups, including the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC), the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), FCT chapter, and the NUT, the minister approved a rescheduled examination.
Speaking during an inspection of the examination venue, the Head of the FCTA Civil Service, Nancy Sabanti Nathan, expressed satisfaction with the turnout and orderly conduct of the candidates.
Nathan said the minister’s intervention had restored hope to officers who were unable to participate in the previous exercise.
“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.
She urged the candidates to maintain discipline and take the examination seriously, noting that promotion remained an important aspect of career progression in the public service.
Nathan explained that promotion opportunities at higher grade levels were limited by the structure of the civil service, where fewer positions were available as officers advanced through the ranks.
She attributed some of the constraints to the implementation of the harmonised retirement age for teachers, which extended their years of service by five years and reduced the number of vacancies created by retirements over the past four years.
Despite the limitations, she said opportunities remained available at lower grade levels, urging candidates to perform well, as promotion would depend on merit and available vacancies.
The Head of Service added that participating education officers would return to their respective schools after completing the examinations.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Emeka Ezeh, confirmed that approximately 5,990 education officers were participating in the current phase of the exercise.
Ezeh commended the candidates for their turnout and orderly conduct since the examination began on 5 October, explaining that the assessment covered officers seeking advancement from Grade Level 13 to Grade Level 14 and through to Grade Level 17.
He cautioned candidates against allowing external interests or political considerations to undermine their professional advancement.
The chairman reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to a transparent, fair and merit-based promotion process.
Meanwhile, the President of the Joint Unions Action Congress (JUAC) for the FCTA and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Rifkatu Iortyer, said the promotion exercise had proceeded smoothly.
She explained that administrative officers, accountants and staff in other cadres had completed their examinations before the current phase involving education officers.
Iortyer welcomed the decision to give teachers who missed the 2025 examination another opportunity, describing the development as important for their career progression.
She said the large turnout and absence of disruption reflected the candidates’ determination to advance professionally despite the ongoing industrial dispute involving the NUT and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), FCT chapter.
However, she expressed concern about the impact of the labour dispute on academic activities, urging the unions and FCTA management to return to the negotiating table in the interest of pupils and students.
Iortyer disclosed that union leaders were pursuing informal mediation efforts to resolve the disagreement, expressing optimism that dialogue would produce a mutually acceptable solution.
She also appealed for calm among union members, stressing that sustained engagement between labour leaders and the administration could prevent further escalation.
On security, the Director of the FCTA Security Services Department, Adamu Gwary, said adequate arrangements had been made to ensure the peaceful conduct of the examinations.
He explained that security personnel had established accreditation checkpoints from the entrance gates to the examination halls to manage the large number of candidates.
Gwary attributed the orderly conduct of the exercise to effective security planning and the cooperation of the candidates, assuring participants that the arrangements would remain in place until the examinations were concluded.
