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The Leadership of Imo State Chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has cry out over the incessant harassment, intimidation, physical assaults and threat to lives from the Ministry of Education task forces led by one Emeka Ebeke who officially claimed that they were working under the instructions of the Commissioner For Education, Prof. Benard Ikegwoha.
Chief Theo Mbakwe, President of NAPPS in Imo State stated that attention of the leadership of private Schools executives have been drawn, on how some group of people armed to teeth invaded some private schools premises without formal notice under the guise of State task force, catered away property worth millions of naira including carrying away some hand bags allegedly containing huge sum of money that belonged to one of the head teachers, a member of the organization in the State. Chief Mbakwe stated that NAPPS before now are saddled with sole aims to unite and to monitor the activities of all private schools in Nigeria.
And have been working in synergy with all the major stakeholders in the education sectors across the nation to improve effective and intellectual developments of each State in particular and the country at large and wonder why and how the Commissioner who is also an academia and a major stakeholder will unleash such an attack dogs on his people.
According to him, the State government has hitherto developed a frame work that was enshrined as Imo State Educational law of 1978 and Edits of 1986 which is a legal frame work binding on both the ministry, its parastatals and private school owners as stipulated that the State Ministry of Education should through their offices at the local government levels served all private schools a demand notices for some days for enforcement and not to invade schools with hoodlums.
Further, Chief Mbakwe stated that the invasion of schools unnoticed looting of the property has remained issue of great concern as school children cum pupils are left on a terrible shock.
He gave names of some of the invaded private schools as follows, Logos Nursery and Primary School Ubomiri in Mbaitoli Local government area, Catch Them Young in Owerri West, Unique Mustard Seed located at Site and Services World Bank axis and many others.
Narrating her ordeal a victims, Mrs Ngozi Nwosu, a teacher in Logos Nursery and Primary School Ubomiri in Mbaitoli Council area explained how a group of people numbering over 10 persons invaded their school in a commandos way last Monday, 22 March 2021, causing much tension and threat to the life of both the teachers and school children.
“We thank God for saving our lives first, some people came in a commando style and moved straight to our head masters office, started losing ceiling fans and packing some school property into a parked white coloured Innosen racketeer bus with an inscriptions Ministry of Education, the seizures include my own hand bag containing Forty Five Thousand naira and other valuables. Further inquires shown that they came by the order of Education Commissioner, Prof Benard Ikegwoha. To check private schools approvals and renewals document and failure to provide attracts stiff penalty of Fifty Thousand naira. As i am talking to you now we have paid the sum of Forty Thousand naira without any receipt”. Mrs Nwosu said.
It is also revealed that, the task force team has continued to reign havocs by forcefully extorting money from the innocent proprietors without any receipt.
When contacted the leader of the team, Emeka Ebeke a fearful looking middle aged man told news reporters that he is simply carrying the instructions of his principal as a civil servants that any further questioning or discussions should be forwarded to the Commissioner for Education.
Meanwhile when contacted through phone the number of the Commissioner rang severally without picking and he did not returned the call.
