For more than half a decade the staff of the defunct College of Education, Ekiadolor, have been having a running battle with the Edo State Government on many issues ranging from recognition to welfare among others. In this chat, one of the aggrieved members of staff, Humble Eweka opened up to Popular News.
Excerpts:
Some time, before the end of the last era, that’s the administration of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, he pronounced, through an executive bill, that the College of Education, Ekiadolor, was now a degree awarding university, named Tayo Akpata University same with the university at Iyamho.
Surprisingly, the State Ministry of Education went to NUC(National University Commission), collected licence for Iyamho and didn’t bring our own licence. We sensed a foul play and we approached him. After several meetings with the government he told us it was close to the time of election that government cannot take both universities at the same time. That the next person that will come(as Governor) whether from PDP or APC was going to be a Benin man and of course would actualize this dream.
When our new Governor (Godwin Obaseki) came in he came to Ekiadolor on the 30th of November, 2016 and in his words he said “Edo State is here today.” He came with his deputy, Comrade Philip Shaibu, Head of Service and most of his Commissioners were present. He said that the issue of the Tayo Akpata University of Education would be laid to rest that day. He raised a book in his hand which he said was the blueprint of the said Tayo Akpata University of Education that would take off in September 2017. Uptil date nothing has happened.
How have you been surviving?
We have lost so many staff. Some of us now drive our cars as cabs all to make ends meet. We have approached the government to come and do the needful. If they say the school is defunct are the staff defunct? Redeploy us and pay us whatever you are owing us. In his words he claimed that he is not owing us.
Some time ago the National Assembly gave six institutions to two political zones and Edo State was given one. Governor Obaseki asked them to put the institution at the old College of Education, Ekiadolor site. We thought that we (staff of the defunct school) would be given consideration. Suffice to say that all the arrangements made were thwarted. When we now asked for our money close to the election time we were on the streets for two weeks all to no avail.
He has been going about telling people that he does not know us. We are still pleading. As I speak with you now we are going to Government House to drop a letter. We have dropped many letters begging him that if we have offended him by our actions he should forgive us as a father. What’s even more disturbing is that we have sent all important personalities in Benin to plead with him on our behalf. But uptil now we have not heard from the government.
How do you see the future of your group?
Of every other thing you can do to a man it is to truncate his career. These class of people are all career civil servants/public servants. I have lectured for 25 years. I don’t know what’s my fate now. But we will not allow the whole thing to end like that. We are just marking time. We know what to do at the appropriate time.
What role is the Federal Ministry of Education and international bodies playing in all these?
That would be the next dimension that we will take. We are trying to send emissaries to the Minister of Education. The new Provost of the College of Education actually pleaded our cause. We don’t know where we are now. At the beginning of our agitation he was our national leader, he later became the Provost of the Federal College. He actually did his best. On the day the College was inaugurated he knelt down in the public forum pleading with the governor to try and address our problem. The governor didn’t say yes or no to his request. We have not heard from him. What we are going to do is that we will write letters to the appropriate quarters asking about our fate. Is it a crime to work for government? There are terms of engagement. We were formally engaged. We are qualified. We have not heard from the federal and state governments. They have recruited new staff at the school and as it were we, the old ones, are abandoned.
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