The Akwa Ibom government has given reasons why the appointment of about 5,000 teachers recruited in 2015 had to be cancelled saying it is meant to resolve all issues associated with the exercise.
Ekereobong Akpan, head of Akwa Ibom civil service had a in a statement declared the appointment of the secondary school teachers null and void saying the state government took the decision after a careful scrutiny of the employment process.
But speaking in an interview with BusinessDay in her office, Akpan, a former permanent secretary in the state civil said the cancellation would pave way for the recruitment of teachers into the state secondary education board.
She said the recruitment of the teachers was fraught with ‘‘many issues’’ adding that the state government after reviewing the programme had to cancel the appointment with a view to conducting another recruitment exercise ‘’very soon.’’
“The state government has reconstituted various boards in the state and very soon the recruitment of teachers into the state secondary education board will be carried out,” she said.
Akpan who also gave indication that the state government would “very soon” undertake the recruitment of teachers into the primary schools in the state stressed the importance of validating the employment of those engaged by the state government to determine the exact number of people needed in the various departments and agencies.
According to her, there are many civil servants that are retiring from the civil service, therefore it is important to know the vacant positions through the validation exercise adding that as soon as that is completed, the recruitment of teachers would commence.
She expressed the hope that the cancellation of the appointment would address of the issues associated with the exercise and would give room for a fresh start.
Meanwhile the newly constituted board of the Ibom international airport had expressed its readiness to ensure the completion of the Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport.
Idongesit Nkang, a retired air commodore and chairman of the board of the airport gave the indication while conducting other members of the board round the airport saying once the facility has become operational, it would be a veritable source of revenue to the state government.
“The most important thing we want to do, we want to make the airport historic, because, why this airport was built, the crux of it was Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul. We believe that with the MRO working it can even takeover this airport, maintain it and make money for government.”
“Yes! We have enjoyed years of flying to Abuja and Lagos; we might be able to fly to other destinations including outside the country, but what this board will like to leave as history is the completion and operation of this Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility, we can then go into cargo and other things; it is a priority.’’
While being hopeful that the airport can still live up to the vision of Governor Udom Emmanuel, who had envisaged that the airport would begin international flights soon; the chairman noted that it is possible in the near future to have regular scheduled international flights.
“Well we have been operating internationally going for pilgrimage, but I am sure that the Governor was hoping that we will be able to do scheduled international flights. There are things to comply with. We need to talk to federal government on that… we need to upgrade some of our equipment so that we meet those international flights that are coming in. Once that is done, the rest is just a routine.”
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