Why Gov Ayade cannot defect to APC – C’ River SUBEB Chair

Chairman Cross River State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Steve Odey spoke on the gigantic strides of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, his many developmental projects and how he is re-positioning Cross River State during the conferment of a merit award ( Ogude Makuojuabuode) by Yache Development Association in Abuja, Tom Okpe was there.

Cross River State is a state that has distinguished itself as a blossoming state. What is the secret of these strides?

The governor is very proactive, he is very innovative, he is very intelligent, he is a goal setter and he is a man that wants things to happen. He does not share money like politicians, the way it used to happen. Money is for projects, the little that we have we put into projects. Even last month he had zero allocation but if you go to Cross River, you will see construction work going on here and there. Don’t forget that I am in the Education sector where there is no money but the man was able to give me 3.8 billion Naira counterpart funding for the state that was left accessed four years before he came into office, so you can see how innovative the man is. He is the digital governor of Cross River State. So everything that we are doing is digitalis-ed. We are making progress because the man on top, the man on the driving seat is very innovative,

Sir how impressive is school children enrollment in the state?

Very impressive, Cross River people are people don’t joke with education they like education so we cannot compromise education for anything. That is why there is massive infrastructural development in the basic education sector in particular to see that every child that goes to school has a place to study and learn constructively. That is what the government is out to achieve.

What are the major challenges you face in the education sector?

One of the major challenge is fallen standard of education which we have tried to address aggressively. We have the issue of ghost teachers and ghost workers. Teachers that came into our employment list but came in with fake certificates, we are trying to weed them out. We have uncovered up to 250 teachers with fake certificates. There are issues of ghost workers which as I talk with you, we have embarked on the bio-metrics of all the teachers in all the local councils in Cross River State. It is very tasking but we must get the place sanitized.

Do you have plans of employing new teachers into the state school system?

Of course, the governor just gave me approval to employ 1,000 teachers. For over 10, 15 years now there has not been any employment of teachers. But the governor knows that no matter the fantastic infrastructure you put in place, what of those to deliver the goods, they are teachers, you must have quality teachers. In my own case, I am not just recruiting teachers; I have subjected them to aptitude test which was done across the 18 local governments. We have just finished marking, the next stage is oral interview, then we will verify their certificates, to ascertain that you a competent teacher. The stage is very herculean and tasking so that by the time we give you your employment letter, people will know that you are a material.

Governor Ben Ayade, is one of the governors that the APC is desperately trying to capture. Do you see the governor dumping the PDP?

Why will he change from PDP and leave, for who? The governor is in the opposition, People should not expect the governor to go and start fighting President Buhari when he has a lot to do in the state. This is a man that has brought about super highway; this is a man that has brought about deep sea port, all Federal projects. He needs their assistance, he needs the collaboration of the federal government.

Should he antagonize the President because he is a PDP member, don’t forget that the governor is more refined, he is a professor, a lawyer, and he does not practice gangster ism. He does not play the kind of politics that people play, I am saying because you are in the opposition you should start fighting your president. The president is the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

You have won several awards since your appointment as SUBEB Chairman, what is the secret?

Well, performance is not hidden, you can see everywhere, everybody feels my impact, even the blind can see what we are doing in Cross River state. And so if the people say they want to honor you, you will be motivated to do more.