The former commissioner for education, Prince Chibueze Agbo has tasked Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru to put more efforts to revitalise public schools in the thirteen local government areas of the state.
Agbo made this known in an interview with Journalists shortly after a statewide thanksgiving service was held at the new government house Chapel, Centenary city Abakaliki, Ebonyi State Capital.
According to him: “I am here in solidarity with the Governor as today is the general Thanksgiving service for the state. It is just barely his two years in office,
He is already laying the foundation and we pray that God will continue to give him the wisdom, good health and the resources needed to move Ebonyi state forward.”
Prince Agbo, however advised governor Francis Nwifuru to recruit a think-tank group that will help him in the formulation, execution and enforcement of State polices, that invariably will advance development in the state.
“Yes, really. He (Nwifuru) needs a think tank that will always assist him in most of the issues.
“Like now he talked of bringing all the people from other states to be in Ebonyi. There should be a sort of a scheme for that.
“It’s going to be a gradual process. Bring all of them back once. When that amount to not actually getting the project or the intention right.
“So, I believe he still needs a think tank that will always guide him in most of the things. Like his commissioners, he should always give them listening ears.
“Like the Elders, like former governor Elechi, Umahi and Sam Egwu, they were there before him. Thank God he is also getting ideas from them.
“So, I hope, by God’s grace, Ebonyi will be better, Ebonyi will progress. The unity and peace in Ebonyi will continue.
That’s my prayer for the whole state.”
He emphasised the need of revitalising educational sector to meet up with the international standards.
“Yes, I’ve been talking of basic education. Basic education in the state is something he should do something about. We go to most of the government secondary schools, private schools.
“You see that they’ve been taken over by weeds. Of recent, about 1,500 teachers have been employed.
“We have over that number of schools in the state. When you put the secondary school, we have about 200 plus. Then the primary schools, which is over 1,000.
So, 1,500 teachers will not be enough, certainly.I’m also happy he’s building some infrastructure like classrooms and others. But teachers, we need teachers in our schools.
He stressed that there’s no guessing about as they are all needed both in quality and in quantity.
Lateefah Ibrahim