Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has directed the re-engagement of teachers who retired at age 60 but are yet to attain the new retirement age of 65 years.
Otti also ordered the settlement of outstanding check-off dues owed teachers, as well as unpaid salaries arising from verification issues and arrears owed newly recruited teachers.
The governor gave the directives on Monday during the 2026 World Teachers’ Day celebration in Umuahia, while responding to demands presented by the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers in the state, Madu ChukwuJekwu.
Otti said his administration had previously approved the extension of the retirement age for teachers from 60 to 65 years and directed that teachers affected by the former retirement policy should be returned to service if they were still below 65.
“I am surprised that that matter is still outstanding. I want to give instructions from this year, Honourable Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, that anybody who is less than 65 years of age, if they have been disengaged, you must return them back,” he said.
The governor added that the affected teachers should be re-engaged even if they had only a few months left before attaining the new retirement age.
Otti further directed that all outstanding check-off dues be paid within seven days.
He also ordered the payment, by the end of October, of salaries owed teachers whose payments had been delayed due to verification issues.
The governor directed that salary arrears owed 4,075 newly recruited teachers should also be settled before the end of October.
On outstanding promotions for 2021 and 2022, Otti directed the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board to harmonise the process with the State Head of Service and forward it to him for approval.
He said the exercise should be completed before the end of October.
Speaking on his administration’s education reforms, the governor said the development of smart schools was designed to complement conventional education rather than replace it.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Goodluck Ubochi, said the government remained committed to improving the education sector and supporting teachers.
The state NUT chairman commended the Otti administration for its efforts to reposition education, citing the recruitment of more than 9,000 teachers, payment of salary arrears inherited from previous administrations and regular payment of workers’ salaries.
Meanwhile, in Akwa Ibom State, Governor Umo Eno has approved a N50,000 wardrobe allowance for each of the 20,000 teachers employed by the state government.
Eno also approved N500,000 for each of the 1,776 registered private schools in the state to support welfare packages for their teachers.
The governor made the announcements on Monday at the Uyo Township Stadium during the state’s 2026 World Teachers’ Day celebration.
He also approved the recruitment of 2,000 additional teachers, following the recent employment of 1,000 teachers by the state government.
Declaring a state of emergency in the education sector, Eno said his administration had released N15 billion as the state’s matching grant for the Universal Basic Education Commission and intervened in more than 100 schools.
He added that the government had paid teachers’ gratuities and sustained the state’s free and compulsory education policy.
According to Eno, the state had registered 172,000 students for WASSCE and NECO examinations and paid their examination fees.
The governor said recruitment for the additional 2,000 teachers would soon commence, with applicants expected to undergo a computer-based test.
He cautioned, however, that scoring highly in the CBT would not automatically guarantee employment.
Eno also declared a state of emergency on education and directed the Deputy Governor, a former teacher, to work with the Commissioner for Education and other stakeholders to undertake a comprehensive review of the sector.
He announced Prof. Philip Afangha as the Vice-Chancellor of the Akwa Ibom University of Education and charged him with commencing the process of obtaining the required accreditation for the institution.
The governor said other members of the university’s management team would be announced before the end of the week.
He also directed the Interministerial Committee to take over the uncompleted NUT House and ensure that the project was completed within six months.
Eno assured teachers that his administration would continue to provide them with the tools and resources needed to perform their duties effectively.
