CUTLAS WARNING!!!: Do not come near Rivers state schools, Amaechi warns FG
The Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, had last week
promised that the Federal Government would soon begin to give some
schools in the state a facelift.
Wike, who made the promise during the foundation laying for the
Federal Junior Model Secondary School in Ogu/Bolo, specifically said the
Federal Government would build additional classroom blocks at the
Birabi Memorial Secondary in Bori, Khana Local Government Area.
The minister also pledged to renovate and build more classroom blocks
at Community Secondary School in Ubima, the hometown of the state
Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and Saint Aquinas Secondary School, Elele.
But the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs.
Ibim Semenitari, said on Saturday that the Federal Government to should
stay away from the state-owned schools.
Semenitari, who spoke with newsmen at the press briefing on Native
and Vogue International Fashion Week coming up on September 19 to 21,
2014 in Port Harcourt, explained that the minister should rather pay
attention to the Federal Government Girls College, Abuloma, that had no
dining hall.
“We want to tell the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike,
that we don’t want any third-rated buildings or blocks of classrooms in
our school premises in Rivers State. The Rivers State Government is not
interested in any white-wash buildings or performance in our schools.
“The minister has not done anything about Federal Government Girls
College in Aboloma that does not have a dining hall; he has not done
anything about the Federal Government College, Port Harcourt; and he has
not done anything about the University of Port Harcourt.
“Let him go and build the nomadic schools that they have not been
able to complete; let him go and attend to the nomadic schools that are
falling apart. They have not been able to build schools for itinerant
teachers.
“Wike should stop playing to the gallery; he should stop playing with
the lives of Nigerian children and be focused in keeping our children
in schools. Wike should be ashamed that Nigeria still has the highest
record of out-of-school children,” the commissioner maintained.
Semenitari noted that the current administration would not allow any
stranger to deface property belonging to the state, even as she urged
the Federal Government to assist in constructing the Bonny-Bodo road.
“They (FG) refused to start it, but as soon as we worked out an
arrangement with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company to construct
the road, the Federal Government told NLNG to stop and claimed that
they will start it and awarded the contract. Up till now, the people of
Bonny cannot ply that road.
“We have been careful in recent times not to join issues with the
Federal Government because we have been focused on our paid jobs. We
like to request the Federal Government to focus on its paid job.
“We have over 200 girls missing and Wike, as a father, should be
concerned. But he has been unable to do his job as a minister to make
sure the girls return to us,” she added.
Semenitari, however, dismissed claims that the state was indebted to
the tune of N300bn, adding that Rivers has only the sum of N81bn to pay
as debt.
Promising that the current administration in the state will not be
leaving any debt for the incoming government, Semenitari said the state
government was setting aside N11bn every month to service its debt
profile.
