Namadi Sambo Refutes Reports on Deteriorating Educational Sector
The attention of Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo GCON, former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was drawn to a publication widely circulated in the social media purporting to emanate from the former speaker of the House of Representatives Hon Ghali Umar Na’abba, Ghali making disparaging comments against the person and stature of the former VP. Na’abba was reported to have expressed concern over the deteriorating state of the education sector while engaging the former VP in a discussion on the sorry state of education infrastructure as well as the decline in the level of education in Nigeria. The former VP reportedly responded in a spiritual manner on which he (Ghali)expressed shock, describing the alleged response as ridiculous.
The former VP, believing the story to be untrue and that the former speaker must have been misquoted, decided to delay his response hoping that the former speaker will disclaim the fake news obviously published to ridicule the former VP and gain cheap popularity but the refutal never came hence the need for this response.
For the avoidance of doubt and to set the records straight it is necessary to state that no such discussion took place between the former VP and the former speaker.
The publication must have been motivated by desperation and a dubious desire to salvage a diminished public status. The former VP does not use such unbecoming language, especially as someone who has played a pivotal role in uplifting our education infrastructure across the country. As the chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) he ensured that there was heavy investment in the education sector.
After the formulation of the National Policy on education, the former VP set up a committee headed by the then Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) now Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ), to tour all tertiary institutions across the country, review the state of infrastructure and make recommendations for ending the infrastructural deficits and decay and ensuring restoration of normalcy in the sector.
A holistic report was presented at NEC and adequate steps were taken towards effective implementation. Nigerians cannot forget that fourteen new federal universities were established as part of efforts to address the deficit in the sector while ensuring equitable distribution of federal government institutions across the federation.
As a means of inculcating and promoting the reading culture amongst our youth, the former VP was at the Bring Back the Book project, an initiative aimed at promoting the reading culture amongst our youth. The desire to give the almajiri children both Islamic and Western education led to the establishment of over one hundred Almajiri schools across the country also geared towards revamping the education sector and providing a befitting enabling environment for an excellent learning process.
These are just a few of the remarkable achievements in the education sector during the previous administration. It is therefore misleading and a mischievous and malicious machination to suggest that the former VP had any such discussion with the former speaker where he made such unfounded statement.
Accordingly it is necessary to draw the attention of unsuspecting members of the public to this falsehood which is nothing but a figment of the imagination of its author that should be discountenanced.
Umar Sani.
Adviser
Media & Publicity
To Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo GCON former Vice President
