Over 1,500 teachers, whose appointment was canceled by the Osun State government, stormed the streets of Osogbo, yesterday, in protest and called on stakeholders and citizens who intend to defeat Governor Ademola Adeleke to absorb it.
At the beginning of the administration, Adeleke has, through an executive order, nullified the recruitment of teachers, among the workers said to have been illegally employed by the past administration directly from Adegboyega Oyetola.
The new government claimed that Oyetola, in the evening of his administration, lost the governorship election on July 16, 2022, hastily employed some workers as a parting gift to his political supporters.
But the teachers denied that their work followed due process and had nothing to do with the All Progressive Congress (APC) as rumored.
Armed with placards with various inscriptions such as, “We Followed Due Process, Please Don’t Send Us Back to the Street”, “We Lose Four Comrades, Please Consider Our Fate”, “Students/Students of Osun State Need Us” , “Please Save Us,” the teachers demonstrated peacefully and called on the country’s stakeholders to help.
One of the teachers, Emmanuel Adedeji, said he was professionally qualified to take up the job and had undergone rigorous screening during recruitment.
“I am one of the 1,500 newly recruited teachers for primary and secondary schools in Osun. I was given my appointment letter on September 30, 2022 and this recruitment process started in 2020 until 2022 when I was told to take my appointment letter. Immediately, we were given the appointment letter, we all reported to the main duty station.
“We ask all stakeholders and well-meaning citizens to ask the governor to reconsider and give a positive response. We are dying in silence,” he said.
Another teacher who was fired, Ishola Yunusi, asked Governor Adeleke not to return to the streets because of the employment review.
Adeleke has been on the committee to review appointments and recruitments made by his predecessors. The committee has not released the report.