Edo State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Joan Oviawe, has assured stakeholders in Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency that a campus of a tertiary institution will be sited soon in the area.
He spoke at a meeting jointly organised by Akoko-Edo Forum and the Edo State Ministry of Education, which focused on the exclusion of the constituency from those to benefit from the recently announced multi-campus programme by the governor.
When pressed for timeframe on when the promise would be fulfilled, Oviawe pleaded with the audience for patience, saying only the governor could make such a commitment.
She said: “I understand the pain and sense of neglect you feel but be assured that Mr. Governor has Akoko-Edo as one of the top councils in his development agenda.
Earlier, in his welcome address, a member of Akoko-Edo Forum leadership, Dr. Richard Bagudu, thanked the commissioner for coming to address the immediate concerns of Akoko-Edo people within the short time of the request.
He used the opportunity to address the challenges facing the oldest government division since 1954, which, he claimed, had remained untouched since creation, being the only federal constituency without a tertiary institution in the state.
Oviawe, who demonstrated deep knowledge of the challenges facing the educational system in Edo State, explained that although Akoko-Edo has about 70 primary schools and over 26 secondary schools, “the education sector has faced a big challenge in the state over the years, considering that the last major teachers’ recruitment took place in 2008.
The commissioner promised to investigate the challenges faced by National Teachers Institute in Igarra, which is on the verge of closure due to lack of funding and low level of awareness of the existence of the facility in the council.
