We’re addressing shortage of teachers in rural schools — Abaji chairman

What are your achievements in the last two years in office? I want to start by appreciating God Almighty for giving us good health and the opportunity to pilot the affairs of Abaji Area Council and to serve my people in the past two years. Despite the financial challenges faced by the administration, I can […]

What are your achievements in the last two years in office?

I want to start by appreciating God Almighty for giving us good health and the opportunity to pilot the affairs of Abaji Area Council and to serve my people in the past two years. Despite the financial challenges faced by the administration, I can say, to God be the glory we have been able to deliver on our campaign promises. And in whatever aspect you look at it, the challenges faced by civil servants working in the area council, I am happy that today, we have been able to pay salaries up to date. We have been able to clear backlog of staff arrears and other entitlements. And 

I will also want you to note that we have established a Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Abaji, where parents within the council and from neighbouring Nasarawa and Kogi states now enroll their children.

The council had no secondary school of this nature before where applicants can easily go to seek admission. Some of them go to other states to seek for admission, but today, we give glory to God. Apart from that, this administration has also done a lot in terms of infrastructural development like construction of bridges and culverts across various rural communities; opening up and grading roads and drilling boreholes across the council.

Most of these projects I have mentioned cut across the 10 wards of the council. We have been able to also give priority to the health sector. We have rehabilitated some dilapidated clinics. In fact, as I am talking to you right now, we have acquired another place where construction of a clinic is on at the south-east ward of the area council. Again, construction work is on for a primary school at Ungwar Ayaura in the north-east of the council, while construction work is also ongoing on a clinic at Yaba in Gawu ward of the area council.

This administration has done a lot in connecting electricity from Gawu to neighbouring villages. Though  there are challenges, they are not discouraging us as we are doing our best to see how we overcome them. We have been able to liaise with the FCT minister, Muhammad Musa Bello,  to intervene on gully erosion that has been threatening the lives of residents of Wadata community in the area. Also, the reticulation of water pipes within the metropolis is ongoing, through collaborative effort of the area council and the FCT administration.

There are also challenges of lack of enough primary school teachers and dilapidated classrooms. What are you doing to address the situation?

In fact, what you mentioned is true but I am assuring that the area council, under my administration, takes education as one of our priorities and as I speak, we are already addressing some of the challenges. Besides, the council has tried to increase the workforce in that aspect, as we have just recruited primary school teachers to tackle the challenge of shortage of teachers at both the council and at the rural areas.

I am one of the board members of the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) and I have already tabled this issue of dilapidated structures, especially in some rural schools because school structure lies in the hands of the FCT UBEB, while payment of salaries is within the ambit of the area council. So as I speak to you, the board has already asked the director to go round and take stock of all dilapidated structures across the area council to see how they can be refurbished or new ones built.

The number of primary school teachers you have employed under the Local Education Authority (LEA) are they enough to address the shortfall?

In fact, we have been able to recruit over 200 teachers, and I believe the number will address the long drawn challenge of lack of enough teachers, especially in rural primary schools, though not all of them are teachers.  We have also recruited civil servants through the Area Council Service Commission. But I believe that 85 percent of those that were employed are teachers. So I believe the challenge of shortage of primary school teachers in Abaji Area Council will now become a thing of the past by the grace of God.  

The present APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has keyed into agriculture as part of efforts to diversify the economy. As a rural area council what has your administration done to leverage on the government’s agricultural policies to improve the lives of farmers?

In the agriculture sector, which is one of the cardinal sectors that Mr. President has paid serious attention to, we at the council level, you will agree with me, have also done a lot for our rural farmers. When I came on board, I immediately embarked on refurbishing of four grounded tractors and handed them over to rural farmers to cultivate their farms, which I believe brought  relief to them.

We have also been able to procure farm inputs, such as agro chemicals, seedlings, sprayers, water pumping machines among others, and distributed them to our rural farmers in order to boost farming across the area council. And I can tell you confidently that farmers made better yield last year because of the support of the area council.       

What are your in plans in 2019?

First and foremost, we are praying to God almighty to spare our lives to see 2019 and beyond. Before then, my major concern is to see that we continue to provide democratic dividends to our people who elected us into office. Even if we cannot provide all our promises, we should at least, be able to provide 90 percent of  the promises we made to them. If we succeed in doing that, I am very sure by the special grace of God APC shall retain government again in Abaji area council.

Does that mean you are recontesting in the 2019 council election?  

You see, the issue of whether I am recontesting in 2019 area council election or not has not arisen because I was not the one that said I want to be chairman of Abaji area council, it was the people who saw the trust, confidence and zeal in me that asked me to come and contest. And I believe it is still the same people that will assess my performance to see if I deserve to go for a second term. And like I said earlier, I made some promises and I am sure these people are watching me to see if I will fulfill those promises. 

So I am still at the service of my people, until they decide who will be their chairman come 2019, as I want to focus on seeing that I meet up with those promises. And I think when the appropriate time comes, the people will surely make it public.