Rabiu Omaku
The fate of Muhammed Haliru Araboh, The Education Secretary of Lafia Local Government is in limbo following an allegation of financial misappropriation levelled against him by the Nigeria Union of Teachers’ Nasarawa state wing, The embattled Education Secretary according to the secretary of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board ,Yakubu Ahmed unfolded that the board directed that the sum of N600 each be collected from all teachers to enhance and facilitate the processing of Code of Code Bureau (CCB) forms for onward delivery to their headquarter but Araboh went ahead to collect N700 which was against formal arrangement.
The board attributed the woes of teachers to the inaction of the present Education Secretary ,Speaking on the seven hundred naira collected by Haliru meant for Code of Conduct Bureau forms, The board asserted that E.S Lafia Local Government collected higher amount compared to other Education Secretary, But Araboh went ahead and collected additional N100 running into N4.5 million, Other misgivings of the estranged Muhammed Haliru was the allegation of certificate forgery levelled against him, It was gathered that the Education Secretary did not really graduate from the institution he claimed.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB) has accused him of withholding the salaries of Twenty Two workers within LGEA, The secretary gave the hint in an interview with selected Journalists in his/office, While reacting over the allegations by the Lafia Legislative council levelled seventeen charges against him, He opined that the NUT orchestrated the non-payment of twenty primary schools teachers in Lafia.
Haliru affirmed that he approved the non-payment of four other teachers over what he described as ineptitude and abuse of civil service, The secretary said his office has the authority to punish, promote, demote and transfer staff, Saying majority of teachers resisted new posting and transfer, “This formed the basis of their punishment, He explained.
The embattled Education Secretary alleged that the board under the Executive Chairman, Abdulkarim Muhammed swindled money running into billions” Majority of primary schools are having high number of staff, While others are under staffed coupled with high number of supervisors, he stated that the existing 76 primary schools has the capacity of over 200 supervisors.
The secretary of Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board, Yakubu Ahmed debunked the allegations made by Haliru as false and baseless made. The board also accused the Education Secretary of taking unilateral decision in the transfer of teachers without consulting the board which is the final arbiter.
Yakubu Ahmed also declined comment on the presence of five ghost schools in Lafia Local Government, saying no such schools exist .
