Akwa Ibom fires 5,000 teachers recruited by Akpabio

Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom state, has approved the dismissal of 5,000 teachers employed under the administration of Godswill Akpabio, former governor of the state.

Vowing not to bow to sentiments, Emmanuel explained that lapses were noticed in the foundation of the recruitment process.

He blamed a syndicate for the issuance of fake appointment letters to thousands of unqualified applicants.

“It was discovered that the syndicate which had since been apprehended was involved in printing fake letters of appointment and fake school certificates at outrageous amounts ranging from 150,000 to 200,000 naira,” he said in a statement.

“Even the bible says if the foundation is not right, what can the righteous man do? We have tried to see how we could get something out of that recruitment process, but believe me, the foundation was very faulty.

“If we are putting people to teach our children, please let us leave sentiments apart and go for the right people. We need to make sure they went through the right process and have the right qualifications.”

Emmanuel assured affected persons who have the necessary qualifications that they would be considered when the fresh recruitment begins.

“We are assuring the 5,000 people that they need not worry, when we are calling for aptitude test, you need not re-apply, just walk into the venue of the exercise with that appointment letter and justify that you are qualified to teach our children.”