By Sarah NEGEDU
The Mandate Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Education Secretariat, Dr. Danlami Hayyo, has assured parents and teachers that all schools in the territory remain safe as the administration is doing everything to secure learning environments.
Hayyo, who gave the assurance on Monday when he returned to office after his suspension, also confirmed that 70 percent of ongoing school renovation projects will be completed by the first quarter of 2026.
Recall that the minister had on November 25, 2025, suspended Dr Hayyo after the Education Secretariat was linked to an unauthorised circular instructing public schools in the FCT to close for the year due to heightened security concerns.
The Administration however disowned the notice at the time, describing it as false and insisting no school-closure directive had been approved.
However, while expressing gratitude to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Minister of State for his reinstatement, the secretary assured that his loyalty to the minister remains unshaken.
“First, I have to thank God Almighty for the blessing, for vindicating me about the last incident, and I will also use this opportunity to thank the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike, who has understood the situation very well and reinstated me back to my position. And I want to tell you, yes, my loyalty to the Honourable Minister is 100percent. I will also use this opportunity to thank the Honourable Minister of State, who has in various stages approached the Honourable Minister and made sure the issue is resolved.”
Speaking to journalists on school safety, Hayyo assured that all schools are secure and that security agencies handle any threats directly.
According to him, “All the FCT schools are very safe. We don’t have any security threats in FCT schools. If we have such kind of problem, we are not the ones to inform the minister. The security agency will inform the minister. DSS, police, national security, civil defence, they will inform the minister without our knowledge. Because they are undergoing a series of meetings, security meetings and everything. So, we are not the one to inform the minister that there is a security threat in school. We just advise.”
On the progress made with the ongoing school renovation, the secretary disclosed that over 100 schools have been completely renovated, with several more ongoing, adding that 60 to 70% of the projects are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
“So, I think very soon, since the minister said it in various platforms and occasions, yes, maybe we will expect a kind of commissioning of projects, education of projects, more especially this time that in the first quarter of 2026, we expect about 60% of our schools renovation completed,” he said.
Hayyo also linked improved student performance to the renovations and the administration’s education transformation agenda. “If you go to some of our schools, you see, you just feel that yes, you are in London or you are in France or you are in Germany, while you are in FCT schools. So, I don’t think there is any other state that can compete with FCT in terms of infrastructure facilities or physical facilities in schools,” he said.
He added that academic assessments should consider student population and school numbers to fairly evaluate performance. “Whenever you are making a judgment or making a conclusion about the academic performance, look at the population first. Maybe if you want to go further, you can look at the gender, males and females. So, whenever there is this kind of issues, please look at the population first,” Hayyo advised.
The Mandate Secretary further noted the FCT’s growing presence in national and international competitions, particularly in robotics and artificial intelligence, emphasizing the link between modernized infrastructure and improved student outcomes.
“So, definitely what the Ministry is doing in FCT definitely has a very good relationship between the student academy performance and school renovation or rehabilitation exercise,” he said.
