Primary school teachers in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State staged a protest on Friday over the non-payment of their salaries for three months, raising concerns about the impact on education in the area. The teachers, who said they were owed salaries for September 2025, January and February 2026, marched through major streets before gathering at the council secretariat to demand immediate payment and fairness.
The protest, which took place in Yala, saw teachers carrying placards and speaking out against what they described as selective and incomplete salary payments. The teachers warned that if the situation is not urgently addressed, they may refuse to resume for the next school term, a move that could disrupt learning for pupils across the local government area.
Speaking during the protest, the spokesperson for the teachers, Mr. Peter Okpe, said the situation had become unbearable and accused the council of politicising salary payments. He explained that in September 2025, more than 95 per cent of primary school teachers were not paid, while the few who received salaries were short-paid.
According to Mr. Okpe, only about 72 out of more than 300 teachers in the area were paid, and even those payments were irregular. “Even those that got their salaries were short-paid while others got debited as soon as they were credited,” he said.
He added that some teachers received as little as N3,000 or N7,000, describing the situation as unacceptable. Mr. Okpe further alleged that some teachers were only paid after contacting influential individuals, saying: “We have some teachers who called their godfathers and got paid immediately by the council.”
He said repeated explanations from the authorities had not solved the problem, noting that the same issues affected the payment of January and February salaries. Mr. Okpe warned that teachers might boycott the next school term if the matter is not resolved.
However, the Cross River State Government has denied owing salaries and blamed some of the teachers for the situation. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Stephen Odey, alleged that many of the affected teachers were not regular at their duty posts.
“Whenever auditors come around for verification, some of the teachers are always not around,” Prof. Odey said. He added that only those who refused to comply with official processes were experiencing payment issues. “The place of teachers during school hours is the classroom, but these people are the ones found wanting,” he stated, insisting that the government is not owing any worker in the state.
Also reacting, the Press Secretary to the Yala council chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Onah, attributed the issue to a system error. He explained that some teachers were mistakenly overpaid in September 2025 and had failed to come forward for corrections.
“Some got up to N1 million, and efforts have been made for them to report for reconciliation, but they have refused,” Mr. Onah said. He added that salaries for October, November and December 2025 were paid without issues and assured that steps were being taken to resolve the matter.
The conflicting claims from the teachers and government officials leave the situation unresolved, as concerns grow over the welfare of teachers and the possible effect on pupils’ education in Yala.
