“Stop Playing Politics with Education!” Rep Wole Oke and Osun Government Clash Over Blocked Plan to Hire 700 Teachers

A heated war of words has broken out between the Osun State Government and a member of the House of Representatives, Wole Oke, over a failed attempt to recruit 700 teachers for public schools in the state.

The drama began when Oke, who represents the Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency, raised an alarm on Thursday, January 22, 2026, claiming that the state government had deliberately frustrated his “rescue mission” for the education sector. The lawmaker had planned to hire and pay 700 part-time teachers through his personal Education Trust Fund to fill massive gaps in local schools where “learning outcomes are steadily declining.”

According to the lawmaker, everything was set for a major screening exercise at the Ipetu-Ijesa campus of the state university until the government allegedly pulled the plug. Oke slammed the move as a “lack of consultation,” arguing that his initiative was meant to help the government, not compete with it. He even hinted that the state’s recent announcement of its own teacher recruitment was a “panic move” designed specifically to overshadow his project.

However, the Osun State Government is not taking the accusations lying down. The Commissioner for Education, Mr. Dipo Eluwole, hit back swiftly, describing the lawmaker’s claims as a total fabrication. “As the Commissioner for Education, I am hearing this for the first time,” Eluwole stated, adding that there was never any formal agreement to allow a private individual to recruit for public schools in that manner.

The state government insisted that the lawmaker is simply playing to the gallery to gain political sympathy. Meanwhile, the Osun State administration maintained that its own recruitment process is moving along through official channels like SUBEB and TESCOM, and it urged political figures to stop using the future of students as a “battlefield” for personal grievances.

For now, the 700 potential teachers who were hoping for a job are left in limbo as the state and the federal lawmaker continue to trade blame over who is truly looking out for the classrooms of Osun.