Kwara Govt to Buy Dangote Refinery Shares for Female Teachers

The Kwara State Government has announced plans to buy shares in the Dangote Refinery Initial Public Offering (IPO) for female teachers in the state.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq announced the initiative on Monday in Ilorin during activities marking the 2026 World Teachers’ Day.

The scheme aims to promote investment and financial inclusion among teachers, especially women.

Under the arrangement, the government will purchase 10 shares for each of 10 female teachers in every outstanding public school.

The governor said the programme would also cover outstanding retired female teachers.

He explained that the state was working with the Dangote Foundation to help women build assets through share ownership rather than relying only on salaries.

“Dangote has created the Dangote Foundation, providing subscription grounds for women only. For every ten shares we purchase they will give a grant of another ten shares, making twenty shares,” AbdulRazaq said.

He directed the Head of Service, Dr Olufunke Mercy Shittu, to develop the modalities for including qualified retired female teachers in the scheme.

The governor said the investment plan formed part of his administration’s wider efforts to improve teachers’ welfare and economic opportunities.

He also assured teachers that the government would sustain measures aimed at improving their working conditions.

“We will continue to do our part, including improving your welfare and working conditions on a sustainable basis,” he said.

AbdulRazaq also presented about N120 million to outstanding teachers, school administrators and institutions as part of the World Teachers’ Day celebration.

Twenty-nine best principals and head teachers received N29 million, while 119 outstanding teachers shared N59.5 million.

Eleven serving and retired university dons received N22 million under the Pioneer Professorship Recognition Awards.

Three schools also received N9 million for the Best Kept School Award.

The governor said the awards recognised educators’ sacrifices and encouraged them to maintain high standards.

He listed merit-based recruitment, continuous professional development, improved school infrastructure and technology-driven learning among the administration’s education reforms.

AbdulRazaq also cited the use of technology and data through KwaraLEARN as part of efforts to improve teaching and learning outcomes.

He noted that the state had continued to promote teachers regularly and implement the 27.5 per cent Teachers’ Specific Allowance.

According to him, these interventions have contributed to improved performances by Kwara pupils in national and international competitions.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prof Sheu Raheem Adaramaja, announced approval for the 2026 promotion exercise for eligible teachers.

Adaramaja said the promotion examination would hold on October 10.

He added that Kwara would become the first state in the country to conduct its 2026 promotion exercise for eligible teachers.

The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr Lawal Olohungbebe, said the awards showed that the government valued hard work.

He urged the recipients to sustain their performance and encouraged other teachers to pursue continuous professional development.

The keynote speaker and former Kwara State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Umar Farooq, described investment in teachers as an investment in children and society.

The state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Yusuf Wahab Agboola, commended the government’s interventions in schools and teachers’ welfare.

Agboola, however, urged the government to adopt the national harmonised retirement age for teachers.