Teachers in Kwara State on Friday protested their exclusion from the newly approved 30 per cent Peculiar Salary Allowance granted to other categories of state workers.
The teachers staged a peaceful protest at the Nigeria Union of Teachers’ state secretariat in Ilorin.
They described the decision of the state government as unfair and discriminatory.
The protesters argued that teachers deserved equal treatment with other civil servants.
Segun Afolabi, who spoke for the teachers said the 27.5 per cent Teachers’ Specific Allowance was a statutory entitlement and should not be merged with, or used as a replacement for, the newly approved 30 per cent allowance.
“Other states are implementing the 30 per cent Peculiar Allowance, and Kwara should not be an exception. Teachers’ earnings in Kwara State are far below the economic reality of the country.
“Education is suffering because teachers are not well paid. All civil servants in Kwara State were paid November 2024 palliatives, but teachers were exempted.
“The economic hardship is escalating and affecting teachers the most. In Kwara State, teachers depend solely on loans to stay alive. The quality of education is low because teachers are not properly attended to.
He said the protest was to demand the immediate implementation of the 30 per cent Peculiar Allowance for teachers, as enjoyed by other state workers.
The Kwara State Chairman of the NUT, Yusuf Agboola, appealed to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to urgently include teachers in the new allowance in the interest of equity and industrial harmony.
Agboola said: “There is no gainsaying that we are in pain and our hearts are disturbed by the missing gaps in the payment of the newly introduced Peculiar Allowance, from which Kwara public school teachers were excluded.”
He also dismissed claims that the union’s leadership had failed teachers, describing such perceptions as misleading.
“The union demanded during negotiations that the 30 per cent Peculiar Allowance be extended to teachers in addition to the 27.5 per cent and 21 per cent TSA already under consideration.
“We categorically told representatives of the state government that the Peculiar Allowance should also be extended to teachers,” he explained.
Agboola disclosed that the union officially received confirmation of the TSA approval at an enlarged emergency meeting of the State Standing Committee held on December 21, 2025, describing it as a major achievement of his administration since assuming office in late 2023.
He also criticised a protest staged by some teachers on December 22, alleging that it was driven by ulterior motives and exploited the frustration of members.
“The call for protest was surrounded by motives that some teachers could not fully understand. Participation amounted to joining the multitude, while the real masterminds hid under the issue of Peculiar Allowance,” he said.
Agboola added that the union’s leadership was not present during the protest because it was not formally notified, while secretariat staff were already on end-of-year holidays, and key officers were out of the state.
Appealing for unity, he urged teachers to remain calm and work together to resolve outstanding issues.
“A united people can never be defeated,” he said.
The national leadership of the NUT in December had faulted the Kwara State Government over what it described as persistent neglect of teachers’ welfare.
In a letter dated November 13, 2025, jointly signed by the National President, Audu Amba, and the Secretary-General, Dr Clinton Ikpitibo, the union accused the government of failing to implement the 27.5 per cent Teachers’ Specific Allowance and the National Harmonised Teachers’ Retirement Age Act, 2022.
The letter, acknowledged by the Governor’s Office on November 17, warned that teachers in the state could embark on a full-blown strike if the issues remained unresolved.
The union expressed disappointment that while the government had approved consolidated salary structures for medical and health workers, nurses and judicial staff, teachers’ long-standing demands were yet to be addressed.
It said the failure to implement the TSA and domesticate the Harmonised Teachers’ Retirement Age Act, which extends retirement age to 65 years or 40 years of service, had pushed teachers in the state “to the brink,” warning that patience within the sector was wearing thin.
When contacted, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr Lawal Olohungbebe, did not respond to WhatsApp messages sent to him, nor did he answer his phone when a call was put through to him.
