We have families to feed’ — 1,220 sacked Kwara teachers beg governor for reinstatement

Some 1,220 teachers disengaged by the Kwara State Government have appealed to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to reinstate them.

The teachers, under the group known as Sunset Teachers, made the appeal at a news conference in Ilorin on Saturday.

The group’s Deputy Coordinator, Wasiu Yunusa, said the teachers were employed in January 2019, towards the end of the previous administration.

According to him, the current administration later disengaged 2,214 teachers employed in 2019. Although some were subsequently reinstated, about 1,220 remain out of work.

Yunusa said the governor had earlier assured them that they would not be punished for being employed by his predecessor shortly before the end of his administration.

He recalled that the governor had described the teachers as his children who should not suffer because of the timing of their employment.

However, Yunusa said the teachers were surprised when they learnt online about a year later that workers employed in 2019 had been disengaged.

He explained that the affected teachers later met with the governor to seek clarification. According to him, the governor directed them to reapply for their jobs, and they complied, but most have yet to be reinstated.

The deputy coordinator said the teachers had written several appeal letters to the governor, asking him to reconsider their situation.

He added that many of the affected teachers had aged parents and other dependants to care for but were struggling to meet their family responsibilities because they were unemployed.

Yunusa appealed to AbdulRazaq to reconsider their case and allow them to return to work.

He expressed hope that the governor would respond positively to their request, saying reinstating them would restore livelihoods, support families and strengthen the education sector.