Kwara teachers protest exclusion from newly approved salary allowance

By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

Aggrieved teachers in Kwara State on Friday staged a peaceful protest over their exclusion from the newly approved 30 per cent peculiar salary allowance granted to other state workers.

The teachers converged on the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) state office in Ilorin where they expressed displeasure at the state government’s decision, describing the exclusion as unfair and discriminatory.

Comrade Segun Afolabi, who spoke on behalf of the protesting teachers, insisted that the 27.5 per cent Teachers’ Specific Allowance (TSA) is a statutory entitlement and should not be merged with, or used as a replacement for, the newly approved 30 per cent allowance meant for workers.

According to him, “Other states are implementing the 30% peculiar allowance and ours should not be an exception. Teachers’ earnings in Kwara State are far below the economic reality of the country.

“Education suffers because teachers are not well paid. All civil servants in Kwara state were paid  November 2024 palliatives; only teachers were exempted.

“It is on this note that we demand immediate implementation of peculiar allowance for teachers as it is being implemented for other civil servants in Kwara State.”

Reacting to the protest, Kwara State Chairman of the NUT, Comrade Yusuf Agboola, appealed to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to urgently include teachers in the new allowance in the interest of equity and industrial harmony.

He said the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Kwara State wing, had appealed in a circular to public school teachers in the state to remain calm and avoid further protests over their exclusion from the recently introduced Peculiar Allowance approved for core civil servants in ministries, departments and agencies.

Agboola acknowledged that teachers were pained by their exclusion from the 30 per cent Peculiar Allowance, noting that the development had triggered emotional reactions within the union.

“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 said.

However, the NUT chairman dismissed claims that the union’s leadership failed teachers, describing such perceptions as incorrect and misleading.

He explained that discussions around the Peculiar Allowance took place alongside negotiations for the Teachers’ Specific Allowance (TSA), which was recently approved by the Kwara State Government after more than a decade of abandonment.

“The union had 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,” Agboola said.

He 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 the development as a major achievement of his administration since assuming office in late 2023.

Agboola also criticised the protest staged by some teachers on December 22, alleging that it was driven by “ulterior motives” and exploited the frustration of innocent members.

“The call for protest was surrounded by motives that some teachers could not fully understand,” he said. “Participation amounted to joining the multitude, while the real masterminds hid under the issue of Peculiar Allowance.”

He further explained that the union’s leadership was absent during the protest because it was not formally notified, while secretariat staff were already on end-of-year holidays.

He added that both the State Chairman and Secretary were out of the state at the time.

Appealing for unity, Agboola urged teachers to “sheath their swords” and focus on addressing outstanding challenges collectively. “A united people can never be defeated,” he said.

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