Hundreds of applicants in the recently concluded teachers’ recruitment exercise in Ondo State, who were allegedly scammed by some officials of the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), on Friday staged a protest at the Governor’s Office in Akure, seeking urgent intervention from Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

The applicants lamented the financial losses they incurred after paying huge sums of money, running into millions of naira, to secure employment slots, only to be issued fake appointment letters. Their fate was revealed when their names were excluded from participating in the ongoing biometric capturing exercise.

Some of the victims, who spoke anonymously, said they had resigned from private schools and organisations where they previously earned a living in anticipation of the state jobs.

According to them, although they participated in the recruitment exercise but were not shortlisted, some senior officials at the recruiting agencies assured them of appointments—on the condition of payment.

A 35-year-old mother of three from Ifon, Ose Local Government Area, Mrs. Opeyemi, said her husband sold farm produce to raise N450,000 for a SUBEB slot through a senior official, with an additional N50,000 for redeployment.

Also speaking, Mrs. Alaba from Igbara-Oke in Ifedore Local Government tearfully recounted how her husband sold his small car for N1.2 million to purchase a slot, hoping they could buy another car when she began earning a salary.

She said she had also resigned from her teaching job at a private school in Alagbaka, and it is now difficult to return.

In another case, Miss Folashade reportedly slumped upon discovering that her employment letter was fake.

According to her father, she had been forced to resign from her private job in Lagos after he sold a piece of land to raise N1.5 million for her slot.

These are just a few of the testimonies shared by victims of the teachers’ recruitment scam, who called on the government to intervene and save them from total loss.