Guber candidate alleges lack of basic instructional materials in Enugu

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Enugu State, Okechukwu Ezea, has alleged lack of basic instructional materials in school just as he lamented what he calls the weak educational system in the state under the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government.

  Ezea spoke on Sunday while on a visit to the Methodist Archbishop of Enugu, His Grace, Christopher Nweke Edeh.

  According to the candidate, while other states were embracing e-learning, Enugu State plays host to ill-motivated teachers, who abandon their duties to engage in petty trading in a bid to make ends meet.

  He further alleged the absence of an inspectorate division in the education sector while also claiming that the schools in the state could not boast a single computer set whereas in Osun State, each student now owns a knowledge tablet to enhance e-learning.

  Ezea wondered how students in the state, could compete with their peers in other states of the federation when they lack the basic instructional materials.

   “JAMB said its examination this year will be computer based. The child in Agbani has not seen a computer. Same goes for the child in New Haven. While those in Osun and Edo are working with computer sets, the child in Enugu has not seen computer set.

  “If big companies or multinationals like Shell, Mobil and others

want to recruit, most Enugu children would be left out of the exercise. The same goes for our health institutions. Our general hospitals are not working. Enugu has 350 communities and 35 health institutions. The World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmark is one doctor to 10 persons. In Enugu, it is one doctor

to 1,000 persons,” Ezea alleged further.

  The APC governorship candidate noted that the ruling party claims there is no money in Enugu and yet they are building a Secretariat for N17bn and borrowing N11bn from a commercial bank.

  While regretting that the high rate of unemployment among youths in the state does not appear to worry those in government circles, Ezea averred that the problem in Enugu “is that people who were not prepared for leadership were catapulted to office through ‘anointing.’ We are saying no to this anointing. The problem of unemployment has connections with the high rate of crime in the State. We are ready to revitalise all ailing industries to give jobs to our youths,” he said.