Lagos teacher, Busayo Adeyemo, has gained the 2026 Maltina Teacher of the Year award, receiving a N10 million money prize and a three-bedroom apartment from the Lagos State authorities.
Ms Adeyemo, of Lanre Awolokun High School, Gbagada, Lagos, emerged winner on the twelfth version of the competitors organised by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund (NB-FOETF) on Friday in Lagos.
Apart from the money prize and apartment, she additionally obtained a Honda HR-V, an all-expenses-paid abroad capability growth coaching, a one-year provide of Maltina and a N30 million faculty infrastructure undertaking to be in-built her honour.
According to a press launch from the organiser, Ms Adeyemi additionally gained the Maltina Prize for Best STEM Teacher, for which she obtained an extra N1.5 million.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who hosted the occasion, individually rewarded Ms Adeyemo with the three-bedroom apartment.
Governor’s intervention
Mr Sanwo-Olu recommended the NB-FOETF for utilizing its sources to recognise and assist lecturers, describing the initiative as a chance to deepen collaboration between the non-public sector and authorities.
He stated the intervention demonstrated how company social accountability might contribute to bettering schooling in Lagos and Nigeria.
Speaking after she was introduced because the winner, Ms Adeyemo expressed appreciation to the schooling belief fund, the Lagos State authorities and different companions for the popularity and rewards.
“I am excited, thankful and grateful about this competition and the rewards that have followed. This award simply means that I should keep giving my best.”
She stated the award would additionally encourage her to contribute extra to teacher growth and STEM schooling.
“It’s a reminder that I have a responsibility not to relent but to keep giving my best, committing myself to teachers’ development in Lagos and Nigeria, keep advancing STEM education in Nigeria, and believing in the Nigerian children that tomorrow shall be great,” she stated.
Other winners
Yusuf Cariyat of Wisdom International School of Excellence, Sauka, Lugbe, Abuja, emerged first runner-up and obtained N5 million, whereas Ephraim Inyangudo of Comprehensive Secondary School, Ediene Abak Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, emerged second runner-up and obtained N3 million.
Seventeen different lecturers who emerged as state champions obtained N1 million every.
The occasion additionally featured remarks from President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro.
Mr Tinubu recommended the schooling belief fund for its investments in school rooms, libraries and different studying amenities, and stated the federal government was able to associate with the fund on its deliberate long-term assist for out-of-school kids from 2027.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, additionally recommended the initiative, saying the sturdy participation within the competitors mirrored the depth of instructing expertise throughout the nation.
Entries obtained
According to the NB-FOETF Corporate Affairs Director, Uzodinma Odenigbo, the competitors obtained 2,510 entries from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) this yr, representing a 30 per cent enhance from the earlier version.
Of the entries, 2,243 have been thought-about legitimate.
Mr Odenigbo stated the competitors had thus far honoured 305 lecturers, supported faculties with instructional infrastructure and delivered 11 faculty infrastructure initiatives.
The Chairman of the NB-FOETF and Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Thibaut Boidin, stated the competitors was established to have a good time lecturers and recognise their contribution to society.
He stated the 2026 version was significantly important as Nigerian Breweries marks 80 years, Maltina marks 50 years, whereas the schooling belief fund marks 32 years of funding in schooling.
“We see your commitment, the sacrifices, surprises that may never appear on a report card. We see the extra time you give to a struggling student, the patience, the courage and the optimism required to keep believing in the next generation. We honour you and we thank you,” Mr Boidin stated.
The Maltina Teacher of the Year competitors was launched in 2015 by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund to determine, honour and reward excellent lecturers throughout Nigeria.
Since inception, the Maltina Teacher of the Year Competition has produced eleven grand prize winners, and so they embody Rose Obi (2015), Imoh Essien (2016), Felix Ariguzo (2017), Olasunkanmi Opeifa (2018), Ezem Collins (2019), Oluwabunmi Anani (2020), Abanika Taiye (2021), Alaku Ayiwulu (2022), Adeola Adefemi (2023), Esomnofu Ifechukwu (2024) and Serah Yusuf(2025).
With her win, Ms Adeyemo turns into the twelfth recipient of the nationwide award.
READ ALSO: Akwa Ibom approves N50,000 ‘wardrobe allowance’for 20,000 teachers
About the competitors
The Maltina Teacher of the Year competitors was launched in 2015 by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund (NB-FOETF) to determine, honour and reward excellent lecturers throughout Nigeria.
The competitors is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and different schooling stakeholders, together with the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) and the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
The NB-FOETF was established in 1994 with an preliminary capital of N100 million to assist sustained interventions in schooling.
According to the organisers, the fund has labored throughout Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones on the major, secondary and tertiary ranges.
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