Ms Olaleye had appealed to the school to look into the issue of her unpaid pension.
The management of Liberty School, Ikota, Lagos, has issued a statement in response to the viral video of Folake Olaleye, a hawker who joined the #EndBadGovernance protest in Lagos.
In a video posted by an X user, Samuel Ajayi, Ms Olaleye claimed to be a former teacher at the school. She accused the school's management of owing her pension after she was allegedly sacked alongside other teachers.
The mother of two, who joined the protest to express her grievances over the high cost of living, appealed to the former Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, to look into the issue of her unpaid pension by the school management.
Thousands of Nigerians have engaged in the protest, which began on 1 August, to demand an end to bad governance, corruption, economic hardship, fuel subsidy removal, unemployment, and insecurity.The former teacher, who hawked drinks on her head, said she graduated from Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (now Lagos State University of Education). She said she now hawks with her child and can no longer afford basic needs or her children's education.
She said: "My child also is hawking. We are suffering. Even to register her in public schools, they will demand N20,000, and we thought public schools were free but it is no longer so.
"We have not seen anything that President Tinubu has done. Help us to beg him. I am suffering and my children are also suffering.
"I was a qualified teacher. I have NCE. I'm a graduate of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education.
"I've taught at Yemi Osinbajo's Free Liberty School, Ajah before. It was when Osinbajo won the second term that one Pastor Ngozi at Olive Tree Parish Redeem, sacked all the teachers and put her own people there.
"Since then, it has affected me. Even my pension is still there. I am also pleading to Osinbajo to pity me and go and settle it out. I need my pension."
School reacts
In its reaction, the school in a statement shared by the former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, confirmed that Ms Olaleye was a teacher in the school.
The school said her "termination in 2020 was carried out with strict adherence to due process and was free from any personal motives or intentions to replace her with other staff members."
The school assured that Ms Olaleye would receive financial assistance equivalent to what she would have been entitled to under the pension scheme, adding that it is committed to exploring ways to provide further educational opportunities for her children, whom she was said to have voluntarily withdrawn after the termination.
It noted that the former vice president was a pastor of Olive Tree Parish, and under his leadership, Liberty School Ikota was founded in 2012. However, he ceased to be pastor of the church in 2015.
The statement reads in part: "In addressing Ms Olaleye's pension, while the scheme has specific age and eligibility conditions for access, both the School and the Church are committed to providing compassionate financial assistance.
"We will ensure that Ms Olaleye receives, at a minimum, an amount equivalent to what she would have been entitled to under the pension scheme had she met the eligibility requirements. Our goal is to resolve all matters in a respectful, dignified, and amicable manner.
"It is also important to state that Ms Olaleye's children attended the school and benefited from the school's free services, including free education, free books, and free school meals until she chose to withdraw them voluntarily. We are committed to exploring ways to provide further educational opportunities for her children."
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Free school
The school further noted that since its establishment in 2012, "using the same model, Professor Osinbajo, alongside others has established other free primary schools in other parts of the country, all, either run by local communities or not-for-profit organisations."
It noted that their roles in these institutions are purely honorary as patrons and benefactors.
"Liberty School Ikota remains steadfast in its mission to offer free educational opportunities and support to children in need.
"It is a completely Free Primary School offering good quality education for children of underprivileged parents. So far, over 1,000 children have gone through Liberty School Ikota with sound free education, including free school uniforms, free books and a free meal every day," it noted.
