Governor Nyesom Wike has been urged to respect court orders overruling his administration’s disowning and non payment of several teachers of Staff Schools in Rivers State owned tertiary institutions since five years ago.
Rivers State Civil Society Organisation (RIVSCO) in a concern raised, Wednesday, in solidarity with past students of the Staff Schools wondered why the Wike’s administration continues to ignore the positions of two courts over the matter.
The State Government at various fora has maintained that the aggrieved teachers were employees of private entities against the National Industrial Court ruling to the contrary including a charge to pay the teachers in 2018 and the government’s appeal struck out in 2020 for lack of merit.
In the joint statement by Enefaa Georgewill, Chairman, RIVSCO and Kpaniku Justice on behalf of old students, the stakeholders wondered why, “Non-teaching staff of these same staff schools are still being paid salaries by Rivers Government till date, while the teachers and their families were singled out for deprivation, starvation, frustration and mortification to date, many of whom have been lost to death.
“To still act in the manner they have done after the teachers obtained two court judgements ruled in their favour, should not be seen as ignorance but a deliberate attempt to ignore or twist the facts and set aside the judgements of two courts of competent jurisdiction as the National Industrial and Appeal courts.”
The concerned stakeholders vowed to stage a third protest over the plight of the teachers if the government continues to ignore release of their entitlement in line with the courts orders, two previous protests having failed to make the government yield to their demands.
(Vanguard)
