Neglect of teachers: Ortom denies allegation by LP guber candidate

Jigawa NUT urges Badaru to lift the ban on teachers’ recruitment

The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has debunked claims by the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Iorwase Hembe, that his administration has neglected the welfare of teachers.

In his goodwill message on Teachers Day, yesterday, Hembe had taken a swipe at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration in the state, saying that he “salutes the courage, resilience and commitment of Benue teachers, who, despite being subjected to neglect and oppressive conditions, strive daily to teach our children in schools, when not closed.”

Reacting in a statement titled, ‘Benue Teachers Acknowledge and Appreciate Governor Ortom,’ which was signed by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, Terver Akase, the state government denied the allegation, describing it as a baseless attempt to undermine the Ortom administration to gain political mileage.

The statement reads in part: “Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate in Benue, Herman Hembe, in which he accused the Ortom administration of neglecting Benue teachers, as well as the entire education system.

“We find the statement as another attempt at whipping up sentiments to set teachers against the Ortom administration to gain political mileage.

“It is obvious that Hembe is not aware that Benue teachers have, at different times, appreciated and commended Ortom for his efforts in addressing their welfare as it affects emoluments, promotions and other incentives of service.”
In another development, the Jigawa State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called on Governor Mohammed Badaru to lift the embargo on employment, as the state is in dire need of qualified teachers, noting it will help fill the vacuum of over 10,000 retired teachers.

The Chairman of the state chapter of NUT, Abdulkadir Yunusa, stated this in his remarks during an event to mark this year’s International Teachers’ Day, held at the NUT Secretariat in Dutse, the state capital.

He said that from 2015 till date, there has been a huge gap in the teaching profession created by teachers, who are either retired or died on active service to the tune of over 10, 000 across the state, hence there is an urgent need for the state government to order the recruitment teachers into the system.