From Umar Dankano, Yola
Some aggrieved primary school teachers in Adamawa State have expressed disappointment over the non-implementation of their promotions and salary adjustments by the state government.
Reports indicate that Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri directed that all pending promotion and salary adjustment arrears for civil servants across ministries, departments, agencies, and government institutions be paid beginning from May 2026.
However, some affected teachers who spoke with journalists in Yola on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as the government’s indifferent attitude toward teachers’ welfare. They accused the government of neglecting them for over 20 years without promotion in their careers.
The teachers lamented that those on Grade Levels 05 and 06 currently earn between N68,000 and N72,000 monthly, while newly employed workers on Grade Levels 07 and 08 receive about N100,000 monthly.
Investigations by this newspaper revealed that many primary school teachers in the state have worked for decades without promotion. Governor Fintiri recently assured them that all pending promotions and salary adjustments would be implemented in May 2026, but they claim no action has been taken so far.
One of the affected teachers, Mohammed Chubado, said he was promoted in January 2007, but the promotion has yet to be implemented, despite having less than nine months before his retirement.
Chubado lamented that although he is currently on Grade Level 13, his salary remains far below expectations. He noted that some of his contemporaries in the civil service have already retired as permanent secretaries, while he has spent 19 years in the teaching profession.
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Another primary school teacher, Maryam Mahmud, described the non-implementation of the governor’s directive as unfortunate.
According to her, the announcement made during the 2026 May Day celebration, which was subsequently affirmed by labour union leaders, raised the hopes of teachers across the state.
“When the governor made the pronouncement during the May Day celebration and our labour leaders confirmed it, we all believed implementation would follow immediately. We are now in the second week of June and there is still no progress,” she said.
Mahmud also criticized previous administrations for failing to address the issue over the years.
“It is not fair for a teacher like me, who is on Grade Level 12, to continue receiving the salary of a Grade Level 9 officer for the past 19 years,” she added.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Adamawa State Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Faisal Mohammed, were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages sent to his verified mobile number were neither answered nor returned as of the time of filing this report.
Responding to the concerns, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Iliya James Leneke, confirmed that the government had commenced the necessary bureaucratic processes and assured that implementation would soon begin.
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Leneke urged civil servants in the state to exercise patience and understanding, assuring them that Governor Fintiri remains committed to fulfilling his promises.
“Let me be honest with you. The governor made the promise in May, so we should give the government the benefit of the doubt until next month.
“Some of these matters must go through due process. Let’s allow the necessary procedures to be completed, and if nothing happens afterwards, then people can rightly begin to ask questions,” the commissioner stated.
Meanwhile, the Adamawa State Government recently approved the recruitment of 5,000 post-primary school teachers and 2,000 health workers. In addition, the process of employing another 5,000 workers into the state civil service is ongoing, bringing the total number of new employees under Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s administration to 12,000.