More than 30,000 teachers in Enugu State have endorsed President Bola Tinubu and Governor Peter Mbah for re-election, citing the governor’s investments in education, infrastructure and teachers’ welfare.

The endorsement was made at an event organised by the Teachers’ Grassroots Movement for Peter Mbah and Bola Tinubu at Okpara Square, Enugu, on Saturday.

The group comprised primary and secondary school teachers from public, private and mission schools across the state.

Speaking at the event, Theophilus Odoh, the chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Enugu State chapter, commended Mr Mbah for prioritising teachers’ welfare and transforming the education sector.

Mr Odoh said Mr Mbah had demonstrated his commitment to teachers even before becoming governor, particularly through his support for harmonising teachers’ retirement age and years of service in the state.

He described the construction of Smart Green Schools as a positive innovation that was already benefiting teachers and pupils.

According to him, recruiting more than 4,000 teachers has helped address the shortage of teachers in public schools, while ongoing recruitment is expected to further strengthen the education workforce.

He said teachers were also benefiting from training programmes, including seminars, workshops and symposia, designed to improve their professional knowledge and teaching skills.

Mr Odoh said the endorsement reflected teachers’ appreciation of the governor’s achievements and their desire for continuity in the state.

Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Education, Ndubueze Mba, said the endorsement reflected teachers’ collective appreciation for the governor’s investment in education.

He said the state had developed 269 smart green schools, provided 6,500 smart boards for the programme and distributed 269,000 free school uniforms to pupils in the state.

The commissioner said the administration was also expanding opportunities for young people through the establishment of smart senior secondary schools, technical and vocational education and training colleges, and two new universities.

He disclosed that the government had authorised the recruitment of additional teachers to strengthen teaching and learning in the state’s schools.

Mr Mba said teachers from communities across the 17 local government areas had gathered for the endorsement, demonstrating that the administration’s education reforms were reaching different parts of the state.

Earlier, the coordinator of the Teachers’ Grassroots Movement in Enugu State, Nwakaego Ajah, said the endorsement was informed by the governor’s commitment to making education a foundation for economic development.

Ms Ajah said the movement would take the message of the governor’s achievements to communities, staff rooms, parent-teacher associations, School-Based Management Committees, markets and polling units across the state.

She urged teachers to support the continuation of the administration’s education reforms, saying the movement was determined to promote the government’s achievements at the grassroots.

Responding, Mr Mbah described the endorsement as particularly significant because teachers would play a crucial role in achieving the state’s development aspirations.

The governor said the participation of more than 30,000 teachers in the movement’s endorsement underscored the importance of their support for his re-election and that of Mr Tinubu.

He described teachers as indispensable to the development of every profession and the building of a prosperous society.

The governor said his administration’s education reforms were driven by necessity rather than a desire to undertake ambitious projects for their own sake.

He said the government was allocating 33 per cent of its total budget to education, adding that failure to invest adequately in the sector would lead to significantly higher costs in tackling poverty, insecurity and unemployment in the future.

Mr Mbah said the investments included the construction of 7,000 classrooms, the provision of 464,000 items of furniture, 25,000 desktop computers and more than 5,000 tablets.

The governor added that the support signalled the teachers’ desire for him to return to the Lion Building of the Government House in 2027.

Mr Mbah also urged the continued support for Tinubu’s administration at the federal level. 

(NAN)