<p>This paper argues that the lack of commitment to implementing the declarations and language provisions of the National Policy on Education not only has adverse effects on the development of these indigenous languages, but conversely, continues to confer prime status on the place of the English language in the Nigerian education system. Further, it establishes that there is a relationship between the non implementation of policy declaration on indigenous languages and the exposure of Nigerians to the English language which in turn continues to contribute to the global status of English as the language of power and intellectual discourse. By extension therefore, onerous responsibility is placed on the teacher of the English language to properly transmit knowledge to students to equip them to meet social and educational expectations. Hence, the problem of poor performance by students at examinations all of which are written in English can be directly related to the teachers’ competence which in turn can be seen as evidence of non availability of incentives. Consequently, the paper locates the centrality of teacher welfare to increased professional competence, task delivery and productivity. Quantitative data is provided as evidence of the relationship between teacher welfare, task performance and productivity. It is discovered that the absence of these incentives has negatives implications. It concludes by recommending the need for improved English teacher specific incentives to serve as motivation for professional competence and task delivery while enhancing quality student performance and language negotiation on the global platform.</p>