The Chairman of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Enugu State College of Education Chapter, Comrade Bethrand Ezenwa Ekwe, has commended Governor Peter Mbah for approving payment of the school’s outstanding eight months salary arrears.
Ekwe, in a Press Statement made available to Jungle-Journalist.Com ans signed by himself stated that the governor’s gesture towards the institution is a confirmation that he meant well for Enugu State for the kind of interest he has been paying to education and academic concerns in the state.
The lecturer also expressed hope that all facets of life in the state will receive the attention of Peter Mbah’s government, before he completes his term as governor of the the state.
His words “I, Comrade Bethrand Ekwe, on behalf of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Enugu State College of Education Chapter is saying a big thank you to our dear governor. Our families have been wondering whether we are still employed or not, until this good news hit everyone.
“What this means for us all is that we have a governor who has the welfare of the people at heart, a man who sees the challenges facing citizens and goes out of his way to tackle it.
“Not only has he a human face, it also shows the commitment of this administration to education.
“We already foresaw this coming when 33 percent of the state’s annual budget was earmarked for education. This is the highest both in terms of per capita and percentage of total budget sum in the country as well as higher than UNESCO’s recommended benchmark of 15 per cent – 20 per cent of total annual budget.
“We are looking forward to a robust and fruitful academic development in Enugu State, with Dr Mbah in charge. We also already forsee a state thoroughly developed by the time his term ends.
“Thank you, dear governor. Keep doing what you are doing!”, Comrade Ekwe stated.
Recall that last week, Gov Mbah approved payment of eight-month salary arrears valued at over N467m for7 the academic, non-academic, and casual staff of the Enugu State College of Education, Technical, ESCET, Enugu, before his administration.
A breakdown of the approval are eight-month salary arrears of 299 academic staff and non-academic staff of ESCET valued at N384m, salary arrears of part-time lecturers valued at N69.2m, and salary arrears of casual staff valued at N13.8m. The total came to N467,061,600.
This, according to government, is in line with Governor Mbah’s promise to turn the state’s education sector around.