25th July, 2023
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State notes that an outcry by primary school teachers in the state confirms the position of the party that Governor Hyacinth Alia is ill prepared for the task of governance and that his actions so far in office are fraudulent, especially as regards his purported probe and overhauling of the state's civil service.
Yesterday, July 24, 2023 primary school teachers in the state under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) rose from an emergency meeting with a 48 hour ultimatum on Governor Alia to reverse all decisions he has taken regarding their emoluments and career advancement, which they deemed as not only questionable, unfair and unjustifiable but above all unlawful.
The teachers note among several other things that the governor has arbitrarily demoted them across all grades, reversed their promotions, slashed a 27% statutory allowance package which they fought for and gained as is being enjoyed by their counterparts nationwide.
Their contention also covers the governor's withholding of issuance of "circular on tenure elongation of Primary School Teachers (40 years of service and 65 years of chronological age) as spelt by Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria, Act 2022 through a circular letter which was domesticated, assented and gazetted by the Benue State Government."
PDP deems as shocking, despotic and disruptive such actions of the Benue State Governor as they are clearly out of alignment with the rule of law and due process, and headed only in the direction of a reversal of the gains made by the immediate past administration of Samuel Ortom in the area of improvement of the terms and conditions of service of teachers in the state.
By all decent standards, any government whose actions are aimed at safeguarding and enhancing the public good takes such actions in a manner as upholds the basic principles of consultation with stakeholders who are the target of such actions, this done under transparency and in line with the dictates of democratic governance.
No responsible government wakes up and at the whim of the governor reverses conditions of labour relations which are the product of law and operative nationwide, just like that.
No responsible government takes decisions as weighty as reversing and upending the conditions of service of such a gigantic pillar of society as the teachers without going into negotiations with them at whatever level.
PDP worries that Governor Alia is increasingly by his actions showing that he did not only come to office ill prepared for the onerous task of running a state government he is saddled with, but he is also yet to wean himself of the authoritarian leadership orientation of the priest he was prior to his foray into politics.
We urge whoever the governor's clique of inner circle men are to do the needful by getting his head around the reality that the seat he occupies at the moment is that of the Governor of Benue State and not that of a Parish priest.
And that here, democratic norms, rule of law and due process prescribe modalities for arriving at decisions which impact on the public good, and there are clear limits beyond which even a state governor may not exceed without consequences unpleasant to both his office and the people he governs.
PDP calls on Governor Alia to heed the ultimatum of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Benue State and reverse all the decisions he has taken which are clearly not in the interest of the state, but in his own interests which to such extent remain unlawful, hence fraudulent.
Bemgba Iortyom
State Publicity Secretary,
PDP, Benue State.
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