If there is a class of civil servants in Akwa Ibom
State that have been perennially marginalized,
deeply stigmatized and greatly insulted, it is
teachers in the about 1110 public primary schools
in the state. Their story is a tragic reminder of the
agonizing era of slavery when slave-workers who
devoted the totality of their lives to the service of
slave masters and the society were never properly
appreciated and compensated.
Unlike their counterparts in public secondary
schools, primary school teachers in Akwa Ibom
State are relegated by the state government to a
point that silence is no longer golden. It is as if
they have sinned against God and humanity. The
current travails of these oppressed teachers
cannot be exhaustively addressed in this piece, it
will require writing a textbook if one were to
attempt an exhaustive narrative of their travails.
But for the purpose of this essay, few examples
will suffice.
How does one explain the fact that till now, the
third week of August 2014, teachers in public
primary schools in Akwa Ibom State are yet to be
paid their meagre salaries for the months on June
and July 2014. How can a government that prides
itself as being pro-people owe those who have the
historic task of laying a foundation for our
children’s education for two months? These are
people with families to cater for, people who do
not have any other serious source of income.
The state government has equally been very
unconcerned about other welfare components of
these teachers such as; belated reflection of
promotion in salary, leave grant, pension and
gratuity, etcetera. For instance, primary school
teachers who were recruited in 2001 whose
promotion was due in 2010 only received their
promotion arrears in 2013. Promotion in the
state’s civil service is every three years. Thus,
those teachers who were recruited in 2001 were
due for another promotion in 2013, but till date,
this has not reflected in their salaries.
Before now, promotion for these teachers was
based on year of ‘certification’ and employment
but the Godswill Akpabio regime in its sense of
justice has now changed it to solely year of
employment. Meaning that prior to now, a teacher
who acquired his qualifying certificate (usually the
National Certificate of Education, NCE) say in 2007
will be step(s) ahead of a teacher who acquired his
in 2006 in the salary scale, notwithstanding that
both were employed the same year. But now, both
are being promoted solely based on year of
employment.
Presently, the leave grant of these teachers for
year 2013 and 2014 has not been paid. That of
2012 was only paid by the government after much
bickering and pressure from the teachers. Primary
school teachers who had retired from the state’s
civil service in 1991 till date have not been paid
their gratuity. Many of them have died while
waiting to receive the fruits of their life time labour.
The state government in an attempt to avoid
accepting responsibility and blame has serially
made untenable and non cogent excuses. The
government has advance an irresponsible alibi by
shifting the blame to local government councils in
the state. The excuse of the state government is
that salaries for primary school teachers is funded
jointly by the state and local governments and that
the state government have always made their
counterpart funds available on time. This excuse
on the face of it look sensible, but a critical
appraisal of the situation shows that the state
government is being economical with the truth.
It should be stated that the State Joint Local
Government Account created by Section 162 (6) of
the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (as amended) from which the salaries of
these teachers are drawn is constitutionally under
the exclusive control of the state government. The
question is: has governor Godswill Obot Akpabio
been remitting funds standing to the credit of local
government councils in the state to them as and
when or has he been deducting same? Let Akpabio
answer this question with relevant documents,
facts figures and the whole world will know who is
telling the truth and who should be held liable for
the suffering of these teachers. This is a challenge.
Also, the state government has been hiding under
the notorious veil of endless “verification exercise”
as the reason for delay in payment of salary to
primary school teachers. This is itself ludicrous.
What is the government always verifying year in,
year out? Presently, the state government is hiding
under yet another nebulous verification exercise
(this time biometric) as the reason for not paying
these poor teachers their salaries for the months of
June and July. How come that their secondary
schools counterparts are not being subjected to
the same tormenting treatment?
The State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB)
which is legally responsible for the recruitment and
welfare of primary school teachers has become a
very clandestine and unaccountable entity for
“empowering” political allies. The board has been
severally accused of corruption by teachers and
public commentators. A teacher in one of the
primary schools in Uyo, the state capital, bluntly
told this writer that SUBEB is a trading center
where only the highest bidder gets attention.
Sadly, the state branch of the Nigerian Union of
Teachers (NUT) is almost worse than useless. NUT
in Akwa Ibom is anything but a union. Successive
leadership of the body seems to be trading away
the rights and privileges of primary school
teachers for 40 pieces of silver.
While delivering a paper titled: “Transforming
Nigeria’s Economy: Opportunities and Challenges”
on Saturday 31st May, 2014 at the Babcock
University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, the Finance
Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had listed Akwa
Ibom State as the first among the 10 highest
revenue receiving states in the country. She put
the total amount of allocation to the state from the
Federation Account for year 2013 at 260 billion
naira. Further analysis of this amount according to
the Minister shows that the state allocation during
the year exceeded the budgets of most
neighbouring countries like Liberia, Gambia, among
others. The state is still leading other states in
revenue. The question is; where is our money?
Admittedly, the Godswill Akpabio-led government
has made appreciable impact in infrastructural
development, but then, it will be wrong to rate and
assess the performance of a government without a
dispassionate reference to indices like revenue,
land mass and population.
So much has been said about the much publicised
“free and compulsory education” of the Akpabio’s
administration, but very little objective attention
has been paid to the quality of this education and
the welfare of teachers, particularly primary school
teachers. For me, the welfare of teachers in the
state represents the true face of the free and
compulsory education policy of Governor Akpabio.
There are myriads of inadequacies in that policy
ranging from poor infrastructure to lack of proper
supervision. But those are issues for another day.
It is unthinkable that a man who recently
sponsored a Bill and compelled the State House of
Assembly to pass same into law which entitles
him to 200 million naira annual pay in pension
with other ostentatious benefits after office will be
owing primary school teachers their stipends.
What a sad commentary, such a wicked world!
I am not oblivious of the likely reaction of the
governor, his yes men and praise singers to this
article, but I am more mindful of the verdict of
history. These teachers have suffered enough,
their tears is my zeal. We cannot be talking about
uncommon transformation when those who strive
to lay a foundation for the next generation are
crying to bed with empty stomach.
A labourer deserves his wages. If not for anything,
governor Akpabio should act now in memory and
honour of his late mother who was also a primary
school teacher. It will be disastrous to allow the
next administration inherit the problems besetting
primary school teachers in the state. And the time
to act is now.

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Chai

diaris

g

all dis wey u write na him b 'I will b brief?' 'Few examples will suffice'

anyways thank ur stars u still better than the non Abia civil servants sacked in neighbouring Abia

I feel 4 dem sha
real bad situation

Teachers are always suffering, most states are owing and yet this is a fundamental sector of our society.

Uncommon Suffering in Akwa Ibom!!!

Akpabio is a fraud, where are the PDP??

my gov,if u are owing,pls pay up.i'm ur number one supporter but will never support a situation of indebtedness to the teachers/civil servants