Cheers as Ekiti teachers get cars, N50m gifts

As the world marked the 2016 Teachers’ Day, Wednesday, teachers in Ekiti State were full of joy as gifts of two cars and N50million were showered on them on the commemoration of the day.

While the two-brand new Kia Rio cars were presented to the best teachers in the primary and secondary schools categories, the N50 million is to be shared equally by all teachers in public schools in the state to appreciate them for making Ekiti rank first in the 2016 National Examinations Council (NECO) school certificate examination in the country.

The governor, who promised to increase the incentive to N100 million next year if the teachers could sustain the feat, assured that his government would not leave huge debt of outstanding salary arrears as burden for the succeeding government.

He said that his administration would soon embark on renovation of some schools in the state, assuring that he would continue to treat teachers with dignity and celebrate their competence to help the future of the state.

The governor, who lamented that Nigerian teachers could no longer afford three square meals owing to the current economic recession, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop blaming past leaders for the country’s situation but address it.

According to him, what Nigerians voted for in 2015 was change for better, saying: “Nigerians are not begging for too much. What they wanted is to change their fortunes for better. President Buhari must stop complaining. He must address this recession that is killing Nigerians”.

Just as the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Deputy National President, Comrade Kelvin Nwankwo, pleaded with states owing teachers’ salaries to pay up to cushion the effect of the hard-biting economy on the people, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Deputy Chairman, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, said celebrating teachers showed regard for their contributions.

Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola and the former Governor of the old Ondo State, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua, praised the teachers for their patriotic and unwavering zeal for the development of education in spite of the economic challenges.