Despite Funding Irrelevances for Attention, Wike Owes Teachers Six Years Salaries

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Despite sowing the seeds of Rivers’ patrimony in many parts of the country, whether or not the cause directly affected an average Rivers person, Governor Nyesom Wike of the state is said to be owing teachers in Rivers State salaries for an upward of six years.

This came to the fore, yesterday, when teachers of primary and secondary schools as well as Rivers State owned Tertiary Institutions pleaded with Wike to consider their plight and pay their six years unpaid salaries.

Some of the teachers, who spoke with journalists in Port Harcourt, lamented that they had been denied their salaries for over six years, even when they were still in active service.

They claimed they were staff teachers of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Demonstration Secondary School, Ndele and Seashell Model Primary School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State University International Secondary and Staff Schools, Port Harcourt and Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic Comprehensive Secondary School, Bori in Khana Local Government Area.

Speaking, Mr Olu Ikulghan, a teacher with Ignatius Ajuru University Demonstration School, Rumuolumeni, lamented that he and his wife who was also a teacher in the same school were suffering hardship.

He lamented that his children in higher institutions had dropped out of school, because they could not pay their fees, adding that others in secondly school were at home as they could not afford their tuitions.

“I was employed to teach right from 1991. When I was employed I was just a young man, married somebody, a female teacher from same school. With the recent development, both of us are affected and our children are badly affected.

“Our children in higher institutions, a boy and girl could not continue their education, because we cannot afford their tuition fees. Then the two other ones in secondly school are also at home, dropped out of school,” Ikulghan lamented.

Enefaa Georgewill, Chairman, Rivers State Civil Society Organisations (RIVCSO), pleaded with Wike to consider the hardship the teachers were into and save them.
Georgewill said, “For us in the Rivers State Civil Society Organisations, we want to plead with the Rivers State government, to in good conscience consider the position on the non-payment of teachers of Rivers State Demonstration Primary and Secondary schools for about seven years now.

“We are making this plead because we know the governor is one who in recent times have carried out certain level of philanthropic act, even to persons who are outside our state. We want to call you on the governor to end his tenure in clean sheet and not to go down to history as someone who end the salaries of these teachers.”