A wave of discontent is rising among candidates who participated in the Osun State teachers’ recruitment exercise, as the government continues to delay the issuance of appointment letters months after completing all necessary processes. The applicants, who began the journey with high hopes over a year ago, are now expressing frustration over what they describe as government silence and a lack of transparency.
Governor Ademola Adeleke had, on February 16, 2024, approved the recruitment of 5,000 teachers and 250 education officers to fill vacancies in both primary and secondary schools across the state. The recruitment, which followed the endorsement of the State Executive Council, was a key policy initiative aimed at revitalising the education sector and addressing teacher shortages in public schools.
As part of the application process, each candidate was required to pay a non-refundable fee of ₦2,000. Out of an estimated 32,000 applicants, only about 29,000 successfully accessed the online portal for the computer-based examination. According to data from the Osun State branch of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, approximately 27,000 candidates eventually sat for the recruitment exams conducted on March 27 and 28, 2024.
Following the release of examination results on April 17, 2024, shortlisted candidates were invited for interviews, which took place between September 9 and 13, 2024. Since then, however, there has been no official communication from the state government regarding the outcome or the next steps, including the issuance of appointment letters.
Several applicants who spoke with KIIN360 on condition of anonymity described the silence as “disturbing” and “unfair,” noting that many of them have been waiting in limbo for over a year without any form of update or reassurance from the authorities.
“We don’t know what is going on. We were interviewed in September 2024, and since then, nothing has happened. The government has kept quiet, and this is causing a lot of anxiety,” said one applicant based in Osogbo.
Another candidate, who identified as a loyal member of the Peoples Democratic Party, expressed disappointment, revealing that even efforts by party leaders to intervene and appeal to Governor Adeleke had yielded no positive results. “Our party leaders told us they spoke with the Governor, but they couldn’t get any clear response. We are tired of waiting; we expected more from this administration,” the applicant said.
Speaking on the matter, a human rights advocate and Executive Director of the Centre for Responsive Governance, Ayodeji Ologun, condemned the prolonged delay and accused the government of exploiting the desperation of job seekers. He described the situation as a form of “economic and psychological fraud,” pointing out that while other states such as Oyo and Ondo had concluded similar recruitment exercises and deployed teachers, Osun remained stuck in administrative limbo.
“It is not only irresponsible but also morally wrong that young Nigerians, after paying to apply and going through a rigorous process, have been left without any feedback or result for more than a year,” Ologun stated.
He further argued that the state’s inability to finalise the recruitment exercise contradicts its stated commitment to educational development, especially in the face of an evident shortage of teachers in public schools across Osun.
“The government should act immediately to issue appointment letters to qualified candidates. Delaying this any further only worsens the already critical manpower gap in our education sector and sends a wrong signal about the sincerity of government initiatives,” he added.
Despite mounting pressure from candidates, civil society groups, and political observers, the Osun State Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, declined to provide any comment when approached regarding the status of the recruitment.
As the 2027 elections draw closer and scrutiny of governance intensifies, the delayed recruitment could become a litmus test for the Adeleke administration’s credibility and responsiveness to citizens’ expectations. For the thousands of hopefuls who invested their time, money, and energy into the process, the wait continues — with rising impatience and dwindling trust.
