Busayo Adeyemo, a Biology teacher at Lanre Awolokun High School in Gbagada, Lagos, has been named the 2026 Maltina Teacher of the Year, winning N10 million and a new Honda HR-V. Beyond the prize money, the Lagos State government's gift of a three-bedroom apartment and the governor's promise to revive a state merit award suggest the win is being read as a statement about how teachers are treated.
She was crowned overall winner at the grand finale at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos on the night of Friday, October 30, according to Leadership.
What the Maltina Tutor of the Year takes home
The N10 million cash prize and the car are only part of the package. Leadership reported that she also secured a N30 million infrastructure development project for her school, a one-year supply of Maltina and an all-expense-paid international capacity-building training programme.
On top of that, allAfrica reported that the Lagos State government gave her a three-bedroom apartment. She also won the Maltina Prize for Best STEM Teacher, which carried an additional N1.5 million.
In full, her rewards are:
- N10 million in cash
- A brand-new Honda HR-V
- A N30 million infrastructure development project for her school
- A one-year supply of Maltina
- An all-expense-paid international capacity-building training programme
- A three-bedroom apartment from the Lagos State government
- N1.5 million for the Maltina Prize for Best STEM Teacher
Adeyemo said the award would encourage her to contribute more to teacher development and STEM education. The school project means the benefit reaches her pupils and colleagues as well as her own household.
A first for the competition
The car is new this year. Megastar Magazine reported that Nigerian Breweries announced at the flag-off that the winner would, for the first time, receive a brand-new Honda HR-V in addition to the N10 million grand prize.
The competition is organised by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund (NB-FOETF), and this was its 12th edition. It was introduced in 2015 to identify, honour and reward outstanding teachers across Nigeria, per allAfrica.
The route to winning Maltina Tutor of the Year
The field was large. BusinessDay reported that she beat 10 state champions among 2,510 teachers who entered the 2026 competition. Earlier statements gave a different count: TheStar quoted 2,243 valid entries when the finalists were announced, so the two figures should be read with that gap in mind.
The finalists were chosen after a second-phase assessment of 213 teachers by the panel of judges. New Telegraph reported that the top finalists faced an online assessment and a physical screening before the judges, where they defended their entries.
The runners-up
Two other teachers took cash prizes. Yusuf Cariyat of Wisdom International School of Excellence, Abuja, was first runner-up with N5 million. Ephraim Jacob Inyangudo of Comprehensive Secondary School, Akwa Ibom State, placed third with N3 million, Leadership reported.
Reactions and what it means for teacher welfare
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu used the occasion to make a pledge. BusinessDay reported that he said his administration would resuscitate the Lagos Teachers' Merit Award with improved prizes for outstanding Lagos teachers. The promise gives the state's own recognition scheme a second life, though no date or prize figures were given in the material available.
BusinessDay also reported a message from President Tinubu, who commended Nigerian Breweries for recognising teachers. In the report he is quoted as saying the Maltina Teacher of the Year award had changed the narrative that teachers' reward was in heaven.
A comparison with federal recognition shows how the scales are moving. allAfrica reported that the 2025 Overall Best Teacher in Nigeria won N50 million, a brand-new car and a fully furnished two-bedroom house. That sum is well above the Maltina cash prize, although the Maltina package adds a school project and training.
What happens next
For Adeyemo, the immediate benefits are the cash, the car, the flat and a school project worth N30 million. The international training programme is likely to be the part that feeds back into her classroom and her stated aim of supporting other teachers.
For Lagos, the test is whether the revived Teachers' Merit Award materialises with the improved prizes the governor described. Teachers across the state will be watching for details on when it returns and how much it pays.
For the competition itself, adding a car in 2026 raises expectations for the next edition. With the federal award offering a house and a car, private and state sponsors now have a visible benchmark for what recognising a teacher can look like.
