Public school teachers in Kwara State staged a protest on Friday to voice their grievances over being excluded from the recently approved 30% peculiar salary allowance granted to other state workers. The demonstrators accused both the state government and the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) of neglect and betrayal.
The protest, which took place along Asa Dam Road in Ilorin, saw teachers carrying placards highlighting worsening economic hardship and what they described as unfair treatment. Messages on the signs included: “Economic hardships of Kwara teachers are escalating daily due to poor payment. Implement 30% peculiar allowance in addition to TSA for teachers now!” and “We are tired of living on loan procurement just to sustain life. Kwara teachers’ wage payment is far from the economic reality of the country. Enough is enough!!!”
One of the protesters, Olayinka, stated that the demonstration targeted both the NUT leadership and the state government. “We’re protesting against Kwara NUT leadership for their inaction and complacency, especially the exclusion of teachers from the 30% peculiar allowance, which has been paid to other state workers,” he said. Another teacher noted that the 27% allowance currently cited for teachers is statutory and not new, explaining that teachers in other states have long received it, while the 30% allowance was implemented for other civil servants in December.
The protest comes after a similar demonstration staged on December 23, 2025, over the same issue. Teachers converged at the NUT Kwara State Secretariat, singing solidarity songs to express their frustration and demand inclusion in the allowance scheme.
Meanwhile, the NUT Kwara State leadership has distanced itself from the protest, warning that it did not authorize or endorse the action. In a statement signed by State Chairman Comrade Yusuf Wahab Agboola and Deputy Secretary-General MONI Mike Modesty Itua, the union said: “Anyone or group that goes on a public protest in Kwara State in the toga of representing public school teachers does so at their own peril.”
The NUT leadership, however, commended the state government under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq for approving Teachers Specific Allowances (TSA) of 27.5% and 21%, noting that these measures fulfill longstanding union demands.
The teachers’ protest highlights ongoing tensions between public school educators, their union, and the Kwara State government over wage disparities and economic conditions.
