…Says directive politicises education sector, violates civil service neutrality
The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has accused the state government of allegedly using public school teachers and headteachers for partisan political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The opposition party alleged that officials of the Ogun State Teaching Service Commission and the State Universal Basic Education Board directed teachers and headteachers across the state to attend a meeting with the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
The PDP, in a statement issued on Saturday by the media aide to its governorship candidate, Afolabi Orekoya, described the alleged directive as an abuse of power and an attempt to politicise the state’s education sector and civil service.
According to the party, a memo circulated within public schools instructed headteachers and teachers in both primary and secondary schools to attend the meeting scheduled for August 3, 2026, at the Alake Pavilion, Abeokuta, under what it described as the guise of “statutory and administrative duties.”
The party further alleged that teachers were directed to appear in branch-specific attire to enable easy identification during the event.
The PDP argued that neither TESCOM nor SUBEB had any statutory authority to compel public school workers to participate in what it described as a partisan political gathering.
It maintained that the directive, if implemented, would amount to using public servants as political tools.
The statement read in part, “There is absolutely no statutory or administrative justification for the state’s Teaching Service Commission and the State Universal Basic Education Board to compel public school teachers and headteachers to abandon their primary duties for a mandatory meeting with a partisan political figure.
“The instruction for each branch to appear in unique attire for easy identification further exposes this gathering for what it truly is—a political jamboree and a forced solidarity parade.”
The opposition party insisted that the Ogun State civil service, particularly the education sector, should remain politically neutral.
It also urged TESCOM and SUBEB to concentrate on improving public schools, addressing infrastructural challenges and enhancing teachers’ welfare instead of engaging in what it described as political mobilisation.
The PDP called on teachers and other civil servants not to succumb to intimidation, stressing that their allegiance should be to the state and the law rather than to any political office seeker.
As of the time of filing this report, the Ogun State Government, TESCOM and SUBEB had yet to respond to the allegations contained in the statement.
PLATFORM TIMES could not immediately verify the authenticity of the alleged memo independently.
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