A former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has criticised Governor Nyesom Wike over alleged negligence to pay the NECO fees of Rivers students as well as failure to employ new teachers for schools in the state.
Dakuku said Wike’s failure to pay the NECO fees has made many Rivers students to miss 2021/2022 admission into higher institutions in Nigeria.
He also said the Governor has failed to employ teachers in the state, more than eight years after the last set were employed.
Dakuku, also criticised the decision of the Governor not to pay the over 250 teachers of the Tertiary Institutions’ Demonstration Schools in the past five years, despite the fact that the affected teachers had won their case against the State Government at both the Industrial Court and Court of Appeal.
Dr Peterside spoke against the backdrop of the report that students who wrote internal National Examination Council, NECO, in public schools in Rivers could not access their results because the State Government was owing the exam body.
“Why would the governor want to jeopardise the future of our children? Their mates in other states are busy gaining admission into tertiary institutions but ours cannot do so because of an incompetent governor.
“Rivers people should call the governor to order and make him realise that he holds the position on behalf of all of us and not an extension of his father’s estate,” he stated.
The former member of House of Representatives also lamented that the standard of education is falling in the state because of lack of teachers and classrooms.
He claimed that many schools have been shut down across the state as there were no personnel to teach children.
“As at today, Rivers State is lacking teachers in practically all primary and secondary schools. In some cases, many primary schools have been shut down owing to lack of teachers and even classrooms.
“For example, in Etche Local Government Area, more than 30 primary schools do not have teachers, while some have just one or two teachers.
“In Obio/Akpor, where the Governor comes from, several Secondary schools are lacking teachers in core subjects like English, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, among others.
“Even more shocking is the fact that while teachers are available in some cases, there are no classroom blocks and teaching aids to help impact knowledge.
“He cares less about education and it is, therefore, not his priority sector; meanwhile, education is the way to secure the future. The issue of imprest to primary and secondary schools is a dead matter despite making so much noise about it,” said Dakuku who added that Wike will be called to account for how he managed the funds of the state at the appropriate time.
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