Akwa Ibom State Government has set up modalities for the screening and revalidation of Five Thousand personnel recruited as teachers whose appointment were cancelled October 29th 2016, on grounds of observed irregularities in the recruitment process.

The revalidation is scheduled for Saturday, 11th February 2017.

The Head of Civil Service Mrs Ekereobong Akpan, dropped this hint during a Media briefing with Government House Correspondents at her office.

Mrs Akpan said that Government has made good its promise of employing qualified personnel into the teaching service by opening another window of recruitment to enable affected persons defend their suitability in another round of test adding that the affected personnel would be admitted into the venue of the revalidation on presentation of original copy of the Letter of Appointment which was suspended.

According to her, “Affected persons will be expected to supply their personal details, Birth Certificate, First School Leaving Certificate, Educational Qualifications, Certificate of Origin etc. earlier submitted in the aborted recruitment exercise.

“Let me state here and very sincerely, that all the affected persons who succeed at this fool-proof screening exercise shall be offered appointment to teach in our public schools” Mrs Akpan assured.

On the absorption of staff of the six privately owned Community Schools, the Head of Service explained that the sudden rise to 546 personnel in the schools following approval for take-over by government in 2012 was worrisome to this administration as it immediately set up committee to unravel the mystery. 

The Head of Service said “… Let me again break the good news that the committee set up has submitted it report and all the bona fide teaching and non-teaching staff as identified by the community who used to pay roll them will be absorbed into the service”

Mrs Akpan mentioned the affected Schools to include Unity Model College, Obontong  Nsit Ibom LGA, Community Secondary School, Obio Ediene Ikono LGA, Ikono Annang Comprehensive Secondary School Nkwot Ikono Etim Ekpo LGA. Others are Afaha High School, Ikot Udo Mbang, Ukanafun LGA, Comprehensive High School, Ikpe Mbak Eyop Obot Akara LGA and Comprehensive Secondary School, Iwere, Ini LGA.

She used the occasion to apologised to the affected genuine staff of the institutions for the hardship suffered while the verification exercise lasted and commended the committee for embarking on what she described as a painstaking assignment.

The Head of Service who was flanked by the Permanent Secretary, Deaconess Affiong Okpo, particularly expressed appreciation to the State Governor Mr Udom Emmanuel for his uncompromising stance in ensuring a fair and transparent recruitment process and called on the people to keep faith with the Governor and support his laudable programmes as well as efforts at repositioning the educational sector for a better Akwa Ibom.

‘Attending revalidation for sacked 5000 teachers is encouraging criminality, illegality’

–       Uyo Lawyer tells sacked teachers

Uyo-based lawyer and rights activist, Clifford Thomas, has declared that any member of the sacked 5000 teachers who decides to attend the planned revalidation exercise soon to be organised by the Akwa Ibom State Government stands innocent of his/her action, but insists that such a person may be unconsciously encouraging criminality and illegally in the state.

Thomas, in a phone chat with Propellerng.com on Sunday, said it was criminally contemptuous for the Akwa Ibom State Government to have “hurriedly” gone ahead to announce a revalidation exercise for the sacked teachers after the matter had been filed at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.

In what is now a volte-face and widely perceived as a politically motivated decision, the Akwa Ibom State government recently said it will re-absorb the 5,000 teachers sacked last October on the grounds of alleged fake credentials and other irregularities observed in the recruitment process.

It would be recalled that the affected teachers, whose appointment letters were dated May 15, 2015, were hurriedly recruited by the administration of ex-Governor Godswill Akpabio few weeks before the 2015 general elections.

The secondary school teachers had not received their salaries or posted to schools from April 2015 to October 2016, although they were given letters of appointment before they were sacked by the Udom Emmanuel administration.

The Head of Civil Service, Mrs. Ekereobong Akpan, who briefed reporters in Uyo on the planned revalidation exercise, last week, said the teachers would be screened on presentation of their original letter of appointment from the suspended the exercise which is to begin on February 11.

But Thomas, who had earlier issued a statement urging the sacked teachers to boycott the planned exercise, said he and his team will be bringing matter before the court.

He said, “they plan to take the appointment letters (from the teachers). They tried something like that last year but we stopped them.

“So let them go ahead and do whatever they want to do. I’m very sure we may have to commence contempt proceedings against the head of service.

“That’s why they chose not to give the venue. They know what they are doing. So, no problem. We’re on top of the situation”.