IBADAN/Nigeria: Teachers in Oyo State have lauded Governor Seyi Makinde for his administration’s commitment to improving their welfare through prompt payment of salaries, recruitment of new teachers, career progression, and the promotion of primary school teachers to salary grade level 16. They also commended the governor for appointing a teacher as the Executive Chairperson of the Oyo State Post-Primary Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM).
Speaking at the 2025 World Teachers’ Day celebration in Ibadan, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State Wing, Comrade Raji Oladimeji Ismail, said Governor Makinde’s leadership had transformed the education sector and restored dignity to the teaching profession.
He applauded the governor for eliminating the six-year promotion backlog for primary school teachers and creating ten TESCOM zonal offices headed by teachers appointed as Permanent Secretaries and Tutor-Generals.
Comrade Raji noted that under his administration, the NUT has strengthened members’ welfare through upward reviews of car and housing loans, but called for more government support to tackle issues such as inadequate funding, infrastructural decay, and continuous capacity building.
“On a very special note, I wish to present a few requests of teachers for the prompt attention of the Oyo State government — particularly the need to expedite action on approving the long-standing request for inter-zonal transfer and ensuring the timely release of running grants to school heads,” he said.
In his remarks, the Executive Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Nureni Aderemi Adeniran, announced that the Civil Service Commission had approved 2023/2024 promotion letters for primary school teachers, which are currently being signed for distribution.
Dr. Adeniran disclosed that Governor Makinde had also approved the inter-zonal transfer of 2,005 teachers to their preferred Local Government Universal Basic Education Authorities (LGUBEAs), while efforts are ongoing to compile the list.
“The Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board has continued to work with NUT, the Association of Primary School Headteachers of Nigeria (AOPSHON), and other stakeholders to ensure that teachers’ welfare remains a top priority,” Adeniran said.
He confirmed the governor’s approval for integrating teachers on secondment into the TESCOM employment grid and urged teachers to follow official channels for complaints rather than taking administrative issues to social media.
In his goodwill message, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Audi Titus Amba, represented by Comrade Shaibu Olayinka Yisa, commended Governor Makinde for his dedication to teachers’ welfare and his administration’s remarkable progress in the education sector.
This year’s World Teachers’ Day celebration, themed *“Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession,”* was chaired by the Osi Olubadan-designate, HRM Oba Abiodun Kola Daisi, and attended by dignitaries including the NLC Chairman, Comrade Kayode Martins, and the Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Comrade Segun Abatan, among others.
