The Labour Party has demanded an immediate declaration of a National State of Emergency in Nigeria’s teaching sector, warning that the country cannot achieve sustainable development while teachers remain poorly equipped, underpaid and demotivated.
The party made the demand in a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ken Eluma Asogwa, to mark the 2026 World Teachers’ Day.
It described Nigerian teachers as the backbone of the nation’s education system and warned that their worsening welfare and working conditions posed a serious threat to the country’s future.
The Labour Party said the emergency declaration should trigger urgent government intervention in the training and retraining of teachers, improvement of learning environments and substantial enhancement of teachers’ welfare and conditions of service.
According to the party, teachers entrusted with shaping future generations cannot be expected to deliver quality education when they are themselves “ill-equipped, poorly motivated and inadequately rewarded.”
It said the federal government and state authorities must urgently confront what it described as the “pitiable condition” of teachers and place education at the centre of national development.
The party also cited developments in Abia State under Governor Alex Otti, claiming that the governor had fulfilled campaign promises made to teachers in the state.
It said the Abia experience demonstrated what could be achieved when government prioritised teachers’ welfare, insisting that Labour Party candidates would replicate such measures across the federation if elected in the 2027 general elections.
The party further urged Nigerian teachers to support its candidates at all levels in the 2027 elections, arguing that its historical links with the labour movement positioned it to better protect teachers’ interests.
It said improved remuneration alone would not resolve the crisis in the teaching sector, stressing the need for sustained investment in professional development, teaching facilities and the overall learning environment.
The Labour Party also rejected the notion that teachers should endure poor living conditions because “a teacher’s reward is in heaven,” insisting that the saying must not be interpreted as justification for starving or neglecting educators.
The party reaffirmed its commitment to a Nigeria where teachers are respected, adequately rewarded and provided with the tools and conditions required to effectively shape the nation’s future.
