Yakubu Busari
The attention of the Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board (PSUBEB) has been drawn to a recent social media publication titled “Unveiling the Alleged Wrongs of Hon. Sunday Samuel: A Call for Urgent Investigation,” which contains a litany of unfounded, malicious, and politically motivated allegations against the person and office of our Executive Chairman, Hon. Bldr Sunday Samuel Amuna.
In a statement made available to this medium by Richard Nanpon Jonah,gnipr,
Head, Public Relations and Protocol, Plateau SUBEB
13th September, 2025
We categorically state that the publication is not only false and misleading but also a calculated attempt by faceless individuals within and outside the system, to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of a man whose commitment to transforming basic education delivery in Plateau State, as mandated by His Excellency, Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, is both visible and verifiable.
ON THE ALLEGATIONS: Setting the Record Straight
1. Salary Blockage Claims: The Board operates within the framework of civil service rules and financial regulations. Any salary stoppage often arises from verification or monitoring exercises where some staff are found to have absconded from their duty posts—sometimes for months—without official permission, thereby undermining the future of our children. It goes to say that the stoppage of salaries, where it applies, is a measure taken to bring such erring staffers to account.
2. Induction Course Deduction: Induction programmes are standard practice for newly recruited staff. It is on record that when the Amuna-led Board came into office, it was confronted with a backlog of yet-to-be-inducted staff, with attendant inefficiencies in the system. The Executive Chairman took the bull by the hone and gave approval to an inherited proposal by the Plateau State Polytechnic, who were the consultants for conduct of the exercise. Indeed,the aftermath of the induction exercise was initially greeted with the challenge of over-deduction, which the Board ensured were cleared before a final payment was made to the management of Plateau Polytechnic for the conducted exercise. There are no known complaints in that regard that still subsist.
3. ID Card Production: As part of good intentions to give our staff members at the LGEAs a sense of corporate identity with the Board, the idea for unified ID cards was advanced. This is being handled by a joint committee of the NUT/PSUBEB, where a two-thousand-naira deduction is being made, and production of the ID cards is ongoing without any glitches. It would be unthinkable,therefore, for anyone to insinuate that the Executive Chairman would be involved in stealing from the hard-earned income of our dedicated staffers.
4. Office Materials and Promotion Forms: It should be known that it was the Amuna led board upon assumption of office, that got the support of the state government and the local government chairmen to address the backlog of teachers promotions. As part of the process,it was agreed by the stakeholders that a screening exercise be conducted across all LGEAs to ascertain those to benefit from the promotion. In order not to burden the staff with any hidden levy in the name of administrative charges, a promotion form was generated from the Personnel Department of the Board and issued to each of the 17 education secretaries to give to their staff to make photocopy fill and return for the exercise. How does that amount to criminality?
5. Conditional Salary Release Allegation: This is a grave and unfounded accusation. Hon. Bldr Sunday Samuel Amuna is an honest and straight-spoken person who has consistently upheld meritocracy and fairness. Hence, it is not in his character to ever coerce staff members or anyone, for that matter,into loyalty pledges or financial forfeiture for personal interest. Where such forfeiture becomes necessary due to disciplinary reasons, they are made directly into government coffers.
6. Demotion and Appointment: Allegations of favouritism are not only false but disrespectful to the integrity of the Board’s internal processes. It is within the mandate of the Board to meritoriously assign staff to positions to achieve overall goal objectives. Rotation of staff for productivity is in tandem with the civil service rules.
7. Personnel Displacements: Very true—some staff were indeed demoted, displaced from their held positions, or were asked to resign when it was discovered they falsified their documents- which by the way,is a very serious act of criminality. This is done with good intentions to ensure only deserving persons are placed in the right place. There are records to verify these cases.
8. Entitlements of Former Education Secretaries: The Board has consistently extended appreciation to our former education secretaries who served meritoriously. Some of them were even reabsorbed into the mainstream of board and became directors before they finally retired. However, there are some who had issues during their stay in office,which the Board is trying to clear with them before such entitlements are released. The records are there in plain sight.
Hon. Amuna’s Track Record: A Legacy of Excellence
Hon. Amuna came in with a mantra, “Doing Business Unusual,” aimed at strengthening institutional values and upholding due diligence in the way the system is managed, which has gained him both admirers and those who are strongly in opposition to his bold steps, and wanted it business as usual.
Under Hon. Amuna’s stewardship, with His Excellency’s support, PSUBEB has witnessed unprecedented progress in meeting its mandate:
– Renovation and construction of additional classrooms across the state, covering every senatorial district.
– Training and retraining of our teachers in various fields, including ICT.
– Attracting impactful partnerships from NGOs and development partners such as the Oando Foundation, UNICEF, and many more.
– Transparent procurement processes.
– Community engagements through consistent monitoring of schools.
– Interfacing, especially with relevant stakeholders in the education sector,through a deliberate open door policy adherence.
His leadership reflects the vision of His Excellency, Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, for a renewed Plateau spirit of doing things right for a better Plateau for the next generation, and to reposition basic education as a cornerstone of our development.
Our Stand
We urge the public to disregard the said publication as the handiwork of detractors threatened by the positive transformation taking place in Plateau State’s education sector, particularly at PSUBEB.
The Board remains open to constructive criticism and welcomes oversight from legitimate institutions—not shadowy campaigns driven by mischief-makers and desperate individuals who do not mean well for the system.
We reaffirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and excellence in service to our people and the children of Plateau. Hon. Bldr Sunday Samuel Amuna remains focused, undeterred, and resolute in his mission to uplift the basic educational fortunes of Plateau State with the uncommon support of the “The Time is NOW” administration of His Excellency, Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang.
