Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has assured that his administration is determined to build a strong educational base for the State especially with his programme focus for next year.
Governor Fubara stated this while having an audience with the chairman and members of Technical Sub-Committee of the House of Representatives Committee on TETFund and other services in Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday.
The governor noted that
his government has dedicated a large chunk of the State’s resources to improving schools, adding that his actions stemmed from the report of a commissioned consultant that rated the primary and secondary schools in the State quite low.
He stated that the foundation of education should be the primary school, but it has been neglected in the State over the years with focus only on the tertiary institutions, stressing that his administration has set an agenda for next year to ensure that he lays a good foundation that will build a strong base to stand the test of time.
Governor Fubara commended the Committee and TETFund for the support given to the State owned tertiary institutions which has helped in improving not just their facilities but also the quality of manpower in them.
“This is because we know the support that TETFund has really rendered to our higher institutions. Funding has always been a problem of the State government, especially when it comes to State Universities. They rely solely for their sustenance on the State’s support. But most of the time, the States do the little they can, and when it comes to this very special support that is for the development of tertiary institutions, I can say proudly that it has really contributed and helped in the improvement of our tertiary institutions.”
The governor applauded the heads of tertiary institutions in Rivers State for doing well, and ensuring that they access the funds for the development of their institutions, and pleaded with the Committee to further assist in ensuring that the remaining backlog of funds are accessed to boost development in the schools.
“I have no doubt about the usefulness of the money because from this spreadsheet that I am seeing here the areas of concerns are already specified. And it is not something when you get it for physical infrastructure you now use it for ICT, it is not so. So they are defined and the purposes are very clear. So, I can assure you that our people are going to make sure that they work with your consultants to ensure that we access it.”
He emphasised that the State government has done well in supporting the tertiary institutions, adding that the State’s Universities cannot be compared to a lot of other universities in the country because of the huge investment in them, showing the high priority placed on education in the State.
“That is why as a government our focus is to better the lives of our people. To improve on what we inherited, so that whoever that is going to come after us will have something to say that we have done. It is the successes we have made in governance that should be our legacy and that is why we are working assiduously to achieve more for our people.”
Speaking earlier, the *Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee of the House of Representatives Committee on TETFund and other services, Hon. Miriam Odinaka Onuoha* commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for the giant strides he has recorded in the development of education and related infrastructure, the promotion of civil servants, and the recruitment of the right personnel to mount critical sectors of his government.
She also applauded the governor for his wisdom in managing the affairs of Rivers state especially his peace building attributes during the recent nationwide strike where Rivers citizens, women and youths conducted themselves in line with global best practices.
Hon. Onuoha noted that they were in the State as part of the Committee’s function to oversight tertiary interventions to institutions by TETFund, noting that over N500bn is locked at Central Bank of Nigeria unaccessed.
She commended Rivers State owned tertiary institutions which have almost accessed their funds with a little above N8bn unaccessed, urging them to make efforts to access the balance with the waiver of some of the conditions being considered.
