Public school teachers in Kwara State on Friday staged a protest over their exclusion from the recently approved 30 per cent peculiar salary allowance granted to other categories of state workers, citing worsening economic hardship and unfair treatment.
The protesting teachers accused both the Kwara State Government and the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) of neglecting their welfare. They argued that while other civil servants were paid the new allowance, teachers were left out despite rising living costs.
Speaking during the protest, one of the teachers said the action was also a response to what they described as the failure of the NUT leadership to adequately represent teachers’ interests.
“We are protesting against the NUT leadership for not standing up for us. Teachers deserve the 30 per cent peculiar allowance just like other state workers,” the teacher said.
The protesters displayed placards highlighting their economic struggles, with messages calling for the immediate implementation of the allowance. Some of the placards read: “Implement 30% peculiar allowance for teachers now” and “We are surviving on loans to stay alive.”
According to the teachers, a similar protest was held on December 23, 2025, after they were excluded from the allowance approved for other state workers.
The aggrieved teachers reportedly gathered at the NUT Kwara State Secretariat along Asa Dam Road, where they sang solidarity songs to express frustration over what they described as prolonged hardship and neglect.
One of the protesters, identified as Olayinka, said the exclusion placed teachers at a disadvantage compared to other civil servants.
“Other workers are already enjoying the 30 per cent allowance, while teachers are excluded. This means teachers earn less, even though we perform essential duties,” he said.
Another teacher explained that the 27 per cent Teachers Specific Allowance often referenced by the government was not a new benefit.
“The 27 per cent allowance is a statutory entitlement that has been implemented in other states since 2018. Teachers in Kwara are only expected to receive it in January, while other workers already received their 30 per cent in December,” the teacher said.
Meanwhile, the NUT Kwara State leadership distanced itself from the protest, stating that it neither authorised nor endorsed the demonstration.
In a statement signed by the State Chairman, Comrade Yusuf Wahab Agboola, and the Deputy Secretary-General, Mike Modesty Itua, the union warned that anyone protesting in the name of public school teachers did so without its approval.
The union, however, commended the Kwara State Government for approving Teachers Specific Allowances of 27.5 per cent and 21 per cent, describing the move as a fulfilment of its demands.
