The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel Udom has said that the state government took the decision to terminate the employment of 5,000 teachers because it considered the interest and future of majority of the people of the state as a priority.

The governor said this while giving clear explanation on why the government took the decision in view of a plethora of misconceived positions, especially of opposition parties and individuals on the issue.

“We have read a plethora of analysis- most patently skewed to fit certain pre-conceived political narratives or to score some fleeting political points concerning the issue of the 5,000 ‘teachers’ whose flawed and fraudulent letters of appointment the state government had rightly terminated, and we wish to again, set the record straight on the issues,” Udom stated.

“We wish to inform the members of the public, especially those who were affected by the exercise, that government would have had no reason to terminate their appointments, if the exercise had been carried out properly and in strict accordance with the laid down rules and procedures.

“There is no responsible government anywhere in the world that will fold its arms and allow crooks, scammers and con-artistes to organize a process that would produce those whose job it is, to teach our children; those who would shape their future, their moral foundation and provide them the needed foundational skills that would enable them compete for the jobs of the 21st century.

“It bears repeating here the majority of the  ‘teachers’ did not possess even secondary school education certificates, but had conveniently gone to the black-market to obtain various university degrees to give legitimacy to their pursuits.

“Those ‘qualifications’ upon further review were seen to have been fake, as the universities they purported to have attended did not have records of such students or ever awarding such degrees. The records were carefully scrutinized and they all turned out to be fraudulent. Which government will allow such a fraudulent exercise to stand?,” Udom asked.

The governor assured that the recruitment exercise would be thrown open soon, and advised all those who have the required qualifications among the 5,000 to feel free to re-apply, saying that priority will be given to them, provided they have the right qualifications.

“Government is not about sentiments, and we should resist the narrow impulse to play politics with education which directly impacts our children’s future,” he warned.

“We may have political disagreements or belong to different political camps, which is healthy in a democracy, but we should never play politics with the future of our children, they are our treasure, our future and our hope, the reason why this government places high premium on their growth and development,” Udom added.