•Governor Dapo Abiodun congratulating Francis Taiwo Solanke
The federal government and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State have rewarded Mr. Solanke Francis Taiwo, a primary school teacher at Ansa-Ur-Deen Main School I, Kemta Lawa, Abeokuta, with a car and a two-bedroom bungalow, respectively.
The governor presented Solanke with the keys to a brand-new car donated by the federal government for emerging as the Overall Best Primary School Teacher in Nigeria for 2025/2026, reports The Nation.
Earlier, Solanke had received a cash award of ₦50 million from the federal government at the National Teachers’ Summit in Abuja in recognition of his outstanding performance and dedication to education.
Abiodun handed over the car keys to the award-winning teacher at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, in the presence of the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbagbu, and the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Oloko.
The governor said that the two-bedroom bungalow would be allocated to Solanke in any location of his choice under the State Housing Scheme.
The governor restated his administration’s commitment to continuous training and retraining of teachers through workshops, seminars, digitisation initiatives, and AI-powered teaching platforms.
Speaking in an interview, Arigbagbu described the feat as a confirmation of the governor’s sustained investment in education and the impact of ongoing reforms in the sector.
“When you do things consistently and efficiently, you will definitely continue to get results. We have been winning the Best Teacher Award back-to-back. This same teacher won in October and has now emerged as the overall best teacher in Nigeria,” he said.
He attributed the achievement to the Ogun State Education Revitalisation Agenda, built on six pillars, with the last pillar focusing on students’ and teachers’ welfare.
“This administration has done so much across all the pillars. The declaration of emergency in the education sector led to far-reaching reforms covering curriculum development, school management, technology and innovation, infrastructure, funding, and students’ and teachers’ welfare,” he added.
Highlighting the state’s performance in external competitions, Prof. Arigbagbu recalled Ogun’s dominance in the JETS competitions, where students from the state won 18 out of 24 available awards in one year, with a single student clinching nine of those awards.
He attributed the success to sustained attention to the sector over the past six years.
On the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sub-sector, he revealed that five states have indicated interest in understudying Ogun’s model, particularly in TVET and the digitisation of education.
He added that the federal government and the National Board for Technical Education have commended the state’s achievements.
In his remarks, Solanke expressed gratitude to the governor for creating a conducive environment for teachers and learners, noting that the state’s heavy investment and reforms in education are clearly paying off.
“I feel excited and fulfilled. I appreciate our education-friendly governor for this great honour and for celebrating excellence, innovation, and transformational impact among teachers across the state.”
