Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday condemned the memo that ordered the closure of schools in the FCT, insisting that those responsible for issuing it would face consequences. He described the action as “unimaginable,” stressing that no director had the authority to shut down schools without approval from higher authorities.
Speaking to reporters during an inspection of infrastructure at A11 in the Guzape area of Abuja, Wike emphasised that President Bola Tinubu must be notified before any school in the nation’s capital is closed. He added that there was no security threat to justify such a directive.
The controversy began after reports claimed that all government schools in Abuja had been ordered to close by November 28, 2025. The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Tuesday dismissed the report, saying it was false and capable of causing panic. According to the reports, the directive originated from a memo signed by Aishatu Sani Alhassan, Director of School Services at the FCT Secondary Education Board. The memo, titled “Urgent Need for Early Closure of Schools Due To Security Concerns,” instructed principals to end academic activities and dismiss students.
Following the confusion, the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, issued a statement confirming that no such order had been approved at any level. He insisted that the academic calendar remained unchanged and urged parents and school authorities to ignore the rumour.
The fallout led to the suspension of the Mandate Secretary for Education, Dr. Danlami Hayyo. Wike expressed shock at the situation, saying, “Well, you know in the system, sometimes you get baffled. And that’s why it’s important for one to be current. I was watching television last night and I saw a school, that FCT has directed that schools should be shut down. I couldn’t believe it, so I had to call the Mandate Secretary of Education and of course, he couldn’t reply then I had to get to the details.”
Wike continued, “I got to know that the circular was issued to all the schools without our approval. And I know that we’re having a Security Council meeting today. I called the Commissioner of Police and I called other necessary authorities. I said, who did this? and they said, It’s not in their agenda and there’s no way because we don’t have such a threat that will make us shut down the schools.”
He said the Mandate Secretary had been suspended indefinitely while the directors involved would be sanctioned under civil service rules. “It’s unimaginable how people could take such a decision without the head of the affairs knowing. It’s very unfortunate.
Wike added that the memo created the wrong impression about security in Abuja. “How could you have taken such an action in anticipation? I mean, even I cannot do that without letting the President know. This is the FCT. Do you know what that tells? That there’s insecurity in FCT.”
He questioned why such a directive would be issued when neighbouring states had not taken similar actions. “Kaduna has never shut down, Nassarawa has never shut down, And Kogi never shut down. So how will you say we were threatened? The security do everything they can to make sure that the schools are safe. But we will not forgive anybody who is involved in this.”
