Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed reports of a security threat in Abuja, describing as unauthorized and misleading a circular directing the early closure of schools in the territory.
Wike spoke on Wednesday after inspecting ongoing infrastructural projects in Guzape, Abuja, where he clarified that he never issued any directive for schools to shut down.
He expressed shock at the circular, which had instructed public senior secondary schools to close on or before November 28, reportedly citing security concerns.
“I was watching television last night, and I saw that FCT had directed that schools should be shut down. I couldn’t believe it,” the minister said. “I had to call the Mandate Secretary of the Education Secretariat, and he couldn’t reply. Eventually, I discovered that a circular was issued without our approval.”
Wike added that security agencies confirmed there was no threat capable of warranting school closures. He stressed that even he, as minister, could not approve such a directive without President Bola Tinubu’s consent.
“This is the FCT. Kaduna has never shut down, Nasarawa has never shut down, and Kogi has never shut down. So how will you say we were threatened? There is no such threat,” he said.
The minister announced the immediate suspension of the Mandate Secretary of Education, Dr Danlami Hayyo, with further sanctions to follow for all officials involved. He vowed that no one connected to the “saga” would be spared.
The controversial circular was earlier signed by Aishatu Alhassan, Director of School Services at the FCT Secondary Education Board, who claimed Hayyo had approved it. But Hayyo swiftly denied the claim, describing the document as fake and insisting he never endorsed it.
“Only the FCT Minister could sign such a circular and not a director,” Hayyo told journalists.
However, shortly after Hayyo’s denial, Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, confirmed the mandate secretary’s suspension. He added that the acting FCT Head of Service, Nancy Sabanti Nathan, had been directed to discipline Alhassan in line with civil service rules.
Olayinka described the school closure report as “false and misleading,” urging parents, students, and school authorities to disregard it. He assured residents that the approved academic calendar remained unchanged and that security operations, including Operation Sweep, had been reinforced across the capital.
