The senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, has assured teachers in Ogun State that their welfare would be a major priority of his administration if elected governor, promising to review the contentious Contributory Pension Scheme and implement policies aimed at repositioning the education sector.
Adeola gave the assurance on Monday during an interactive session with teachers and education stakeholders at the Ake Palace Ground, Abeokuta, where teachers’ unions and professional associations presented a charter of demands seeking improved welfare, better working conditions and reforms in the state’s education system.
Responding to the requests, the senator said he had taken note of the concerns expressed by teachers and pledged to work with all relevant stakeholders to address them.
“I am not going to abandon Ogun State teachers. I have listened to all that has been said and all the complaints. I can only do better and move forward. I appreciate your recognition of my interventions in our schools, and I assure you that your welfare will remain a priority,” Adeola said.
On the controversial Contributory Pension Scheme, which featured prominently during the engagement, the lawmaker assured teachers that his administration would objectively review the policy.
“We are going to look at the Contributory Pension Scheme and examine all available options. If abolishing it is the best option available, we will go by it,” he declared.
Adeola also promised to domesticate the enhanced retirement age for teachers already approved by the Federal Government, recruit more qualified teachers into public schools to address manpower shortages, clear outstanding entitlements owed teachers and strengthen teachers’ cooperative societies to improve access to short-term loans.
He further pledged to improve infrastructure and provide essential amenities in rural schools to create a more conducive teaching and learning environment.
The All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant also announced plans to establish a Teachers’ Advisory Council in the Governor’s Office to serve as a platform for continuous engagement on policies affecting teachers and the education sector.
He added that reducing the Ogun Teach internship period from two years to one year would form part of his administration’s priorities, in response to appeals made by participants at the meeting.
Describing teachers as the bedrock of national development, Adeola said no society could achieve meaningful progress without investing in the welfare, motivation and professional development of its teachers.
“The National Teachers’ Policy aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by placing education at the centre of national transformation. My administration will faithfully implement the policy while introducing additional reforms that address the peculiar needs of Ogun State,” he said.
The senator recalled that his support for teachers and education predates his governorship ambition, noting that he had consistently supported World Teachers’ Day celebrations and educational development initiatives across Ogun State for nearly a decade.
He listed some of his interventions over the past three and a half years to include the construction of 128 blocks of 12-classroom buildings with 56 staff rooms and four ultra modern libraries, provision of furniture and more than 300,000 textbooks, establishment of 13 Information and Communication Technology centres and eight skills acquisition centres, training of thousands of teachers and students in digital skills, as well as the distribution of 12,250 laptops to teachers, students and medical personnel.
Adeola also highlighted the facilitation of over 12,000 scholarships and bursaries for Ogun students, donation of 102 campus shuttle buses to tertiary institutions, sponsorship of legislation upgrading the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, to the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, payment of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination fees for 2,137 indigent students and sponsorship of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board registration fees for more than 15,000 students in the state.
Earlier, leaders of teachers’ unions and professional bodies commended Adeola for his sustained investment in education while urging him to place greater emphasis on teachers’ welfare if elected governor.
President of the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools, Evangelist Alaba Olugbenle, described the senator as a visionary leader whose interventions in education, healthcare, infrastructure and economic empowerment had positively impacted lives across Ogun State.
“Your payment of over N80 million for the 2026 WASSCE fees of more than 2,000 indigent students, construction and renovation of school facilities, provision of libraries and instructional materials, distribution of laptops and your intervention during the 2025 education crisis have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to educational development,” Olugbenle said.
The stakeholders urged the senator to sustain his support for the education sector by implementing policies that would improve teachers’ welfare and enhance learning outcomes across the state if elected governor.
