Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement in Oyo State, Honourable Bimbo Adekanmbi, has pledged to protect the salaries, pensions and statutory emoluments of teachers and education workers if elected in the 2027 governorship election, while outlining a series of programmes aimed at strengthening the education sector through curriculum upgrades, digitisation, e-learning and capacity building for teachers and education personnel.
Adekanmbi made the commitment on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, during an engagement with members of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, the Non-Academic Staff Union and other stakeholders in the education sector in Oyo town. The meeting, which the unions described as an opportunity to present their expectations for the education sector, ended with expressions of confidence in Adekanmbi’s candidacy and assurances from union representatives of their willingness to mobilise support for the APM ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Speaking on behalf of NASU in the state, Comrade Folorunsho Oluwabunmi, who is also the Oyo State Treasurer of the Nigeria Labour Congress, commended the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde for its attention to workers’ welfare, but presented a memorandum of requests to Adekanmbi, identifying the introduction of a peculiarity allowance for NASU members as one of the union’s major demands. Oluwabunmi explained that non-academic staff in schools and colleges work throughout the year, including during school holidays, making the proposed allowance necessary to address the peculiar nature of their duties.
The Oyo State Secretary of the NUT and Academic Staff Union for schools and colleges, Comrade Ayo Adekunle, who represented the state chairman, Comrade Ranti Oluwemimo, commended the Makinde administration for what he described as the stable payment of salaries, pensions and other emoluments. Adekunle listed improved car and housing loans, rural allowances for teachers serving in remote communities, easier processing of Certificates of Occupancy, electronic lesson notes and the digitisation of schools among the union’s expectations. He also called for regular training and retraining programmes to improve the capacity of teachers and other education workers. Contributing to the meeting, the Chairman of the ODEC covering Oyo, Ogbomoso and Oke-Ogun, Comrade Mustapha A.A., raised concerns over delays in promotions and the payment of outstanding leave grants.
The Oyo NUT Zonal Chairman for Oyo, Comrade Fakorede Phillip, declared the union members’ support for APM candidates in the state. The endorsements came after Adekanmbi responded to the various demands, assuring the unions that salaries, pensions and statutory emoluments would remain protected under his administration. He said other requests presented by the unions would be reviewed if elected governor, adding that his administration would prioritise direct engagement with residents and remain responsive to issues affecting them. On education, Adekanmbi outlined proposed programmes including curriculum upgrades, digitisation, e-learning and capacity-building initiatives for teachers and education workers, and he promised to recruit additional teaching and non-teaching personnel to address manpower shortages in public schools.
Adekanmbi’s engagement with the education unions forms part of a broader campaign strategy in which he has positioned himself as a candidate focused on continuity and improvement of existing policies while introducing new measures in areas such as digital innovation, infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture and youth development. In previous engagements, he has said he would leverage Oyo State’s human capital, youthful population, agricultural potential and technology ecosystem to develop a more digitally driven economy. His education proposals, particularly the emphasis on teacher training and digital learning, align with the demands presented by the unions, suggesting a deliberate effort to build a policy platform that speaks directly to the concerns of education sector workers.
The political context of the engagement is significant. The 2027 governorship election in Oyo State is shaping up as a competitive contest, with the APC’s Senator Sharafadeen Alli also outlining proposals covering local government autonomy, education, healthcare and workers’ welfare. Alli has pledged full financial and administrative autonomy for the state’s 33 local government areas, a thirteenth-month salary for civil servants and measures to reduce classroom congestion to a maximum of thirty pupils per class. The APC campaign has criticised the Makinde administration over its handling of local government administration, while the state government has challenged the APC camp to provide evidence for its allegations. Adekanmbi has positioned himself as a candidate who will sustain and improve upon the policies of the Makinde administration, particularly in workers’ welfare, education and infrastructure, while introducing new measures in areas such as digital innovation and youth development.
The contest for the votes of teachers and education workers is particularly consequential. Oyo State has a large population of public sector employees, and the education sector accounts for a significant share of the state’s workforce. Teachers and their unions have historically played an influential role in shaping electoral outcomes, and their endorsement can provide a candidate with credibility and grassroots mobilisation capacity. The NUT and NASU endorsements for Adekanmbi represent a significant boost to his campaign, though the extent to which union support translates into votes at the polls will depend on the broader political dynamics in the state and the ability of the APM to build a competitive statewide machinery.
For the teachers and education workers of Oyo State, the engagement with Adekanmbi offered an opportunity to present their demands directly to a candidate seeking their support. Their requests, ranging from peculiarity allowance for non-academic staff to improved car and housing loans, rural allowances and the digitisation of schools, reflect longstanding concerns about working conditions and professional development in the education sector. Adekanmbi’s response, which included commitments to protect statutory emoluments and invest in teacher training and digital learning, suggests that the APM candidate is seeking to position education as a central plank of his campaign. Whether those commitments are translated into concrete policies if he is elected remains to be seen, but the engagement has placed the concerns of education workers at the centre of the 2027 campaign in Oyo State.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments