Abia govt sets up committee to recover public schools

By AmforGod J. Olisa

The Abia State Government has established a special committee to recover public school lands that have been trespassed upon within the state.

This committee, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, includes key members such as the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Uche Eme Uche, who will serve as Secretary, alongside the Commissioners for Justice, Lands and Housing, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the General Manager of Umuahia Capital Development Authority, the General Manager of Greater Aba Development Authority, and the Chief Security Officer to the Governor.

Speaking to the press about the recent decisions of the State Executive Council, the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, revealed that the committee’s primary responsibility is to identify and recover approximately 180 public school lands that have been unlawfully seized by officials and associates of the previous administration.

Kanu emphasized that the current government will not tolerate the greed and impunity demonstrated by a privileged few who have covertly taken over these government school properties. He also criticized the misuse of schools that have been returned to various organizations, insisting that these institutions must be used solely for educational purposes.

“The state government condemns the misuse and misapplication of schools that have been handed over to different organizations,” Kanu stated. “Such schools must be used exclusively for educational activities. Any organization struggling to manage these schools should return them to the government.”

Kanu also announced that a comprehensive assessment of the state’s educational sector has been conducted. As part of the government’s ongoing efforts to revitalize education, around 12,000 public school teachers will undergo capacity-building programs this summer to prepare them for the transformed schools that will emerge by September.