Teachers in Oyo State on Wednesday commended Governor Seyi Makinde’s achievements in 100 days in office.
They described him as “a performer with unequal giant strides.”
The Chairman of the state wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Tojuade Adedoyin; and Secretary, Muhammed Abdullahi, in a statement, said Makinde was already repositioning the state for better service delivery.
The NUT leaders said, “Unarguably, his excellency’s sterling qualities as a leader are pointers that attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference.
“The prompt payment of salaries and pensions to both serving and retired teachers of Oyo State are considered topical issues that we less imagined over a period of time.
“The total release of monthly salaries by his excellency in funding teachers’ pensions board remains an act that cannot be easily forgotten in the annals of history of this administration in Oyo State,” they added.
The teachers also commended the governor for his promise to allocate 10 per cent yearly budget to education, and the promotion of graduate teachers to salary grade level 15 and more.
“Importantly, his promotion of free, compulsory and qualitative education in the state is worthy of commendation,” they added.
They, however, appealed for the prompt payment of the 2018 leave grant to primary school teachers and the creation of a separate pension board for teachers.
They also demanded the appointment of a primary school teachers as headmasters-general in schools and as permanent secretaries for teaching service commission zonal offices.
Meanwhile, the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state alleged that Makinde, within the last 100 days, had reduced governance to ‘purchase and supply’.
The APC lamented what it described as a regrettable downward slide in the fortune of the state as a result of alleged poor handling of its affairs by the Makinde-led Peoples Democratic Party’s administration.
The APC, in a statement issued in Ibadan by its Assistant Publicity Secretary in the state, Ayobami Adejumo, berated Makinde “for bowing to pressure and allowing his subjects to embark on a comedy show in the name of celebrating fake achievements which cannot stand the test of public scrutiny.”
Adejumo said, “Modern ethics of governance or public administration do not give room for experiments as an average prospective leader is expected to be armed with an ideal blueprint or roadmap with which he plans to add value or make a positive difference.
“In the case of Oyo State at the moment, the whole world is worried that we now have a man who still campaigns for an election after he had been sworn-in as a governor.
“Obviously, handlers of the current PDP government are grossly incompetent and the earlier they realise this, the better for the future of our dear state.
“If not a theatre of the absurd, how does a mere plan to purchase pleasure cars amount to a giant stride in enhancing security?
“How does the rebranding and unveiling of exercise books inherited from successive administrations change the face of education for the better in a state?
“How does a mere pronouncement change the status of Adeoyo State Hospital to meet up with the value of the University College Hospital, Ibadan?
“On many occasions in the last three months, we have heard Makinde speak on probing the administration of Abiola Ajimobi on the spurious allegations of graft in the morning and also come out in the evening of same day to applaud most of his policies while in office.”