The Federal Government has honored Ondo State Governor, Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, with a Special Recognition Award for his administration’s interventions in the education sector.
Aiyedatiwa received the award on Monday at the 2026 World Teachers’ Day Commemoration and President’s Teachers’ and Schools’ Excellence Awards held at Eagle Square, Abuja.
Presenting the award, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, commended Ondo State’s efforts in improving teaching and learning infrastructure, student welfare and access to education.
Aiyedatiwa, however, dedicated the honour to teachers across the state, describing their sacrifices as the foundation of the progress recorded in the sector.
“I am deeply honoured to stand before you today as I receive this Special Recognition with humility, gratitude and a profound sense of responsibility,” the governor said.
He added that the honour was “not as a personal award, but as a tribute to the teachers of Ondo State.”
According to him, the recognition belonged to teachers who “carry the hopes of families, the aspirations of communities and in many respects, the future of our dear Sunshine State.”
Aiyedatiwa, who taught before entering politics, said his classroom experience continued to shape his approach to governance.
“Having been a teacher before, I know the classroom. I know the responsibility it entails; standing before young minds and trying to make knowledge meaningful to them,” he said.
He disclosed that he deliberately returned to the classroom in March 2025 to teach, saying the move was intended to reaffirm that “the teaching profession remains at the flagship of the educational enterprise.”
The governor said education remained a central pillar of his administration’s seven-point development agenda, known as the OUR EASE mantra.
He said the state recruited more than 2,100 teachers into its primary and secondary schools in 2025, while expanding professional development, digital and pedagogical training, climate-smart instructional programmes and quality assurance.
According to him, the administration constructed 43 classroom blocks at a cost of about N3.1 billion in 2025, while 75 schools underwent complete renovation.
The government also procured 8,500 learners’ furniture and 1,200 teachers’ furniture, alongside textbooks, sports equipment and other learning materials.
Aiyedatiwa said learning resources worth more than N150 million were distributed across the three senatorial districts, while computer textbooks were supplied to learners in all 18 local government areas.
To improve access to education, he said the government established and took over community secondary schools and introduced free shuttle buses and boats to address transportation challenges faced by students.
The governor disclosed that N633.9 million was paid for the registration of 23,048 public school students for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination.
He added that the state also fully sponsored candidates for National Business and Technical Examinations Board examinations.
