By ALEX ENEBELI
ENUGU- Enugu teachers under the Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB) have promised to reward Gov. Ifeanyi Enugu of State with their voters in 2023 general elections for his “good work”.
They made the pledge when they converged on the Government House, Enugu, to celebrate and appreciate Gov. Ugwuanyi for the “exceptional attention” his administration paid to their wellbeing and education sector.
They stressed that Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration had been regular in the payment of their salaries and had carried out various reforms in education that repositioned the sector and earned Enugu State laurels in the country and beyond.
The teachers expressed delight at the governor’s achievements in the education and other sectors across the state, notwithstanding the state’s lean resources and the challenges of the country since he assumed office.
They, therefore, passed a vote of confidence in him and assured of their support and votes at the polls to represent Enugu North Senatorial District in the National Assembly in 2023.
The teachers, led by the new Chairman of the PPSMB, Dr Favour Ugwuanyi, told the governor that they were behind the choice of Mr Peter Mbah as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general elections.
They gave the assurance of voting for Mbah, his running mate, Ifeanyi Ossai and all other PDP candidates in the state.
Appreciating Ugwuanyi for reconstituting the PPSMB and bringing in intellectuals with proven track records, the principals and teachers disclosed that the positive impact was already being witnessed in the state’s education sector.
The Chairman, Enugu State Association of Nigerian Conference of Principals of Schools (ANCOPS), Mr Robert Okolie, maintained that Ugwuanyi’s investment in education made the state come first in WAEC 2021in Nigeria.
The ANCOPS chairman thanked him for his commitment to quality education and the teachers’ wellbeing.
He said: “We wish you good luck and we are assuring you that all the candidates of the PDP are winners already.
“They should go and prepare for their electoral victory celebrations.”
The PPSMB Head of Department (HOD), Central Registry, Mrs Joy Agbara, stated that the governor’s good works in the education sector were enormous.
She pointed out that they included conversion of 1,000 volunteer teachers to permanent staff, payment of inherited promotion arrears, recruitment of 1,000 teachers.
Others according her, are renovation and construction of classroom blocks, provision of modern learning tools such as computers, laboratory equipment as well as instructional materials.
“We have never had it this good. That is part of the secret of what you are seeing today.
If you look at our schools, there was a time that if you entered our schools, the environment was nothing to write home about but now the environment is friendly for teaching and learning.
“Our students came out with good grades in JAMB and WAEC and they are ICT-compliant, among other achievements.
“We said we must come because there is nothing as urgent as showing gratitude. An act of ingratitude is worse than a traitor’s sword. His Excellency, we say thank you.”
Endorsing their stance, the PPSMB chairman informed Gov. Ugwuanyi that the joy on the faces of the principals and teachers was borne out of their conviction that the governor had done so well for them.
She commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for setting an unprecedented national record in training her, 55 directors and Permanent Secretaries at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) Jos, stressing that no state in Nigeria had done so.
She pointed out that the landmark achievements the Board had recorded were because of the governor’s support and the opportunity he gave them to excel.
Reaffirming the teachers’ support for the governor’s senatorial bid and that of other PDP candidates, Mrs. Ugwuanyi stressed: “We will do it just as we have always done before.
“We want to start by going for a thanksgiving on your behalf in the six educational zones and it will be called ‘Teachers Thanksgiving’ on your behalf.
After that, we will go back to our various schools and kick-off what we call School-to-School Voters Education.” (NAN)
