The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is set to roll out sweeping internal reforms, mandatory refresher training for directors, as part of efforts to strengthen accountability, improve decision-making and consolidate the education transformation agenda of the FCT Minister.
Mandate Secretary, Education Secretariat, Danlami Hayo, who disclosed this while addressing journalists on Monday in Abuja, said the reforms were necessary to prevent administrative lapses and align senior officials with the Minister’s policy direction.
The announcement comes months after the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, reinstated Hayo following his indefinite suspension over a controversial school-closure notice issued without ministerial approval.
According to Hayo, the proposed reforms will focus on capacity building, clarity of mandate, and stricter information management, especially at the directorate level.
“One of our immediate priorities is to embark on refresher training for all directors, including newly appointed ones,” “They must understand their mandate, their limits, and where approval is required. A director cannot unilaterally issue or circulate sensitive decisions without clearance”, he said.
He explained that recent internal lapses were not acts of malice but symptoms of capacity gaps within the civil service, adding that the Minister acted in line with civil service rules after determining that proper approval channels were bypassed.
“The Minister did the right thing. Once it was established that due process was not followed, corrective steps were taken,” Hayo said.
Hayo said the internal reforms would run alongside the Minister’s test, prosperity and education agenda, under which massive investments have been made in FCT schools since 2023.
He revealed that about 26 per cent of the FCT’s capital budget has been committed to education, aligning with UNESCO’s benchmark, and described the scale of school renovation across the territory as unprecedented.
“Over 100 schools have been completely renovated. Some are ongoing, others nearing completion. By the first quarter of 2026, between 60 and 70 per cent of all school renovation projects would have been completed,” he said.
He added that the Minister is expected to commence large-scale commissioning of education projects once the current phase is concluded.
“No previous administration in the FCT has undertaken this level of transformation in the education sector,” Hayo said.
He noted that several renovated schools now meet international infrastructure standards.
On school safety, the Mandate Secretary assured parents and teachers that all FCT schools are secure, stressing that there are no current security threats.
“Our schools are safe. If there were any security threats, the Minister would be informed directly by security agencies the DSS, Police, Civil Defence and other national security institutions through ongoing security briefings,” he said.
He clarified that the Education Secretariat works mainly in an advisory capacity on security issues, while intelligence and threat assessments remain the responsibility of security agencies.
