‘We Are Building A New Ultra-Modern School There’ – LG Chairman

The Amaku-Igbodo Community has cried over abject neglect of her people, especially, her children of school age who have had to sit under a dilapidated structure to study over the years.

Some members of the community told Kristina Reports that given the neglect the area has suffered over the years from different administrations both by the State and Local Governments, they are not sure there is a government anywhere they can relate with.

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One of the elders of the community, who preferred anonymity, decried the abandonment of the area by the government both at the local and state levels, appealing to the state Governor, Nyesom Wike to come to their aid.

“We no get government for here, we no know who to go to but we dey beg Governor Nyesom Wike to come help us, make him help us.’

“Our children no get where to stay go school, the house don scatter finish. Make government come give our children school to stay, we dey beg our Governor.”

These lamentations are trailing widespread criticism against the authorities in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State after a trending video on social media platforms showed a dilapidated structure housing a school, Community Primary School, Amaku-Igbodo, in the area.

Kristina Reports’ Iwo Romgbo observes that the video, which first surfaced on social media a fortnight ago, was yet to receive the attention of the Rivers State Ministry of Education and the Etche Local Government Council, in which domain the school operates.

After a random inquiry on the state of infrastructure at the school, respondents say that no government official has come to see the current state of the facilities there.

In the now viral video the school building has no doors nor windows even as the pupils use moulded blocks as seats on bare floors filled with debris of cements that pulled out of the school walls.

When contacted for the position of Etche LGA on the matter, the Vice Chairman, Gladys Nweke denied the allegations of neglect, explaining that her principal, Obinna Anyanwu has projects in the 19 Wards of the LGA which started off in Igbodo community.

“My Chairman has tried his best to ensure that he executes projects in the 19 wards of Etche, the Igbodo in question was where he started project in the same community.”

She informed that a new school with state-of-the-art facilities was already being constructed as a palliative to redeem the situation while the dilapidated school receives equal attention.

“A new school is being built, Central Primary School with facilities like playground for the children, toilet, offices for Head Teacher and Assistant Head Teacher, staff room, library, and so forth. The school is almost completed.”

“All the children from the various aspects of Ward 14, Igbodo will now attend CPS, Igbodo while they plan to fix these other one.”

The dilapidated state of the school which is gaining fast spread circulation on social media appears to have dimmed the strides of the Nyesom Wike led administration in the State, projecting the State as one that is laid back about the educational development of her children.