Benue education commissioner, ex TSB boss on war path

BENUE State Commissioner for Education, Professor Ityavyar and the former Executive Secretary of the state Teaching Service Board, TSB, Associate Professor I Wilfred Uji are currently embroiled in accusations and counter accusations bordering on administrative principle, insubordination and graft.

While Prof Uji, who resigned last week as TSB boss, accused Professor Ityavya of lacking values of integrity and transparency in public service, Prof Iyavyar heaped allegations of insubordination as well as graft running into millions of naira against the erstwhile TSB boss.

According to Uji in his letter of resignation dated April 1, 2020, addressed to Governor Samuel Ortom and a copy made available to Nigerian Pilot in Makurdi at the weekend, he resigned partly due to “some practices by the Ministry of Education, Benue State under Prof. Dennis Ityavyar that are incompatible with the values of integrity and transparency in public service.”

Read Also:COVID-19: Katsina Schools To Remain Shut As Civil Servants Resume Today

However, Prof Ityavyar, who spoke to newsmen at his residence in Makurdi said, “Dr. Uji makes false assertions that he believes in the principles of public accountability but had largely indulged in serious financial discrepancies. Teachers and other workers under the board who retired never got their retirement letters for more than one year until after each retiree was made to pay sums ranging from N5,000 to N10,000, to collect their letters.

“Under his leadership at the TSB, the transfer of teachers was for sale. Any official who wanted to be transferred was made to pay for his/her transfer.”

Dr. Uji lives a lie when he talks about integrity, painting the management of the Ministry, its commissioner and other top management staff in bad light and with foul language. As we speak, there are many petitions from individuals and organizations against the former Executive Secretary of the Teaching Service Board over gross financial transactions amounting to several millions of naira he took as loans, using the office he occupied.

“One of such petitions from Jacmoses Global Resources Ltd dated 21/1/2020 is before the Secretary to the State Government and the Ministry of Education. These are acts bothering on gross ethical violations and breach of the code of conduct.

The ministry was also greatly dissatisfied with his style of financial management. Several warning letters were sent to him to desist from the practice with little or no success. A particular case in point was when he directed all school principals in the state to pay for his official portrait at the cost of N3,000 each. Even after parting with the said amount, not all schools took custody of the portrait which, in the first instance, was a clear violation of official directives.

Source: NIGERIAN PiLOT