Claim: Benedict Alabi, former deputy governor of Osun State and APC chieftain, claimed that Governor Ademola Adeleke dismissed 1,000 of the 2,500 teachers hired by his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola. Verdict: The claim is misleading. Evidence indicates that 1,500 teachers were laid off after Adeleke took office, not 1,000. Instead of completing Oyetola’s recruitment, Adeleke’s administration
Claim: Benedict Alabi, former deputy governor of Osun State and APC chieftain, claimed that Governor Ademola Adeleke dismissed 1,000 of the 2,500 teachers hired by his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
Verdict: The claim is misleading. Evidence indicates that 1,500 teachers were laid off after Adeleke took office, not 1,000. Instead of completing Oyetola’s recruitment, Adeleke’s administration temporarily assigned 1,750 Imole Youth Corps members to teaching positions.
Background
Governor Adegboyega Oyetola served Osun State from 2018 to 2022. After losing re-election to PDP’s Ademola Adeleke, he became a federal minister. In his last months as governor, Oyetola launched a recruitment drive for public school teachers:
- 1,000 teachers were hired in early 2022.
- An additional 1,500 teachers were recruited in November 2022, bringing the total to 2,500.
Opposition parties, particularly the PDP, criticised the move, calling it a financial burden designed to sabotage the incoming administration.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed the next governorship elections in Osun state for Saturday, August 8, 2026.
A chieftain of the APC and former deputy governor of Osun State, Benedict Alabi, while criticising Governor Adeleke’s government for alleged misrule, claimed that the “Governor sacked 1000 out of 2500 teachers employed by Gov Oyetola”.
Is this claim true?
Verification of What Happened After Adeleke Took Office
Upon assuming office, NDRChecks observed that Governor Adeleke issued a series of executive orders cited in Premium Times, and The Post, aimed at reversing post-election appointments. These included:
- Executive Order on State Bank Accounts
- Executive Order No. 2 on Staff Audit
- Executive Order No. 3 on Employment
- Executive Order No. 4 on Appointments
- Executive Order No. 5 on Chieftaincy Affairs
- Executive Order No. 6 on Review Committees
Executive Order No. 3 specifically nullified all employment made after July 17, 2022, affecting the 1,500 teachers recruited in November 2022. The initial 1,000 teachers hired earlier in the year remained unaffected.
A January 2024 official statement from Adeleke’s administration justified the mass dismissal, alleging that Oyetola had employed over 10,000 workers post-election to destabilise governance.
What’s Happening Now?
Instead of reinstating the sacked teachers, Adeleke’s government launched a new recruitment drive in 2024 for:
- 5,000 teachers
- 250 education officers
However, due to financial constraints, these recruits have not yet been deployed. In the interim, the administration has engaged 1,750 Imole Youth Corps members to serve in schools across the state.
Conclusion
While it is accurate that Governor Adeleke dismissed teachers hired by his predecessor, the actual number is 1,500, not the 1,000 claimed by Benedict Alabi.
The claim, therefore, misrepresents the scale of the layoffs and omits key context about the executive orders and temporary staffing measures.
Rating: Misleading
