Kwara won’t relapse to era when teaching slots were shared at party secretariat — Gov. Abdulrazak

By SAKA Laaro, Ilorin.

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday said his administration is on a mission to reclaim the glory of the state, especially in the education sector where the government has been hailed for its pro-merit policy in teachers’ recruitment and heavy investments in school infrastructure.

In a veiled response to Senator Bukola Saraki’s interview in which he claimed that the people of the state made the mistake of voting him out of power, AbdulRazaq said the state will not relapse to an “awful era of anything goes” when teaching slots were being distributed to loyalists of Saraki at the ward meetings of the ruling party.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government Prof. Mamman Saba Jubril, the Governor spoke at the flag off ceremony for the training of the newly recruited teachers at the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM).

“What we met in 2019 was a legacy of ‘anything goes,’ including in the education sector. Recruitment of teachers was politicised to the ridiculous extent that slots for teaching jobs were being shared at the meetings of the ruling party. I found it funny that the characters who replaced the golden legacy of our forebears with ‘anything goes’ in their bid to cast the state in their own egocentric image had the gut to say that Kwarans made a mistake in voting them out in 2019. Under them, Kwara lost its glory. The basic education system collapsed under their watch,” the Governor said.

“I am proud to say that the very brilliant teachers that were recently engaged and are being given institutional training today are a legacy of our administration. We have successfully redefined how things should be done in the education sector. We raised the bar of how to engage those who hold the key to the future of our children. That is our legacy for history to judge.

“I commend the management of the Teaching Service Commission for this training session. I urge the new teachers to make us proud. We want to see our efforts materialise in the quality of teaching, care and commitment. We will do our bit in the area of welfare, especially promotion and related perks. I am aware  of the hitches in the payment of the package for those we recently effected their promotion from 2017. This is being rectified. We are sorry about that. I urge them to kindly be patient.”

AbdulRazaq said the state of Kwara in 2019 was a far-cry from the great legacies of the founding fathers of the state, adding that the administration is doing its all to ensure Kwara regain its glory and place among Nigerian states.

“The history of the old northern Nigeria will not be complete without deserving mentions of great people of Kwara origin. They were among the best in bureaucracy and other areas. That is the legacy of our forebears. I am a son of one of these eminent people. So, I am conscious of leaving a legacy that history will remember for good,” he added.