Senate summons FCT Minister over dilapidated public schools in Abuja

The Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye has summoned the Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello, the Permanent Secretary of the FCT and the Acting Education Secretary to appear before the committee over the sorry state of public schools in Nigeria's capital city.

During an oversight visit to the LEA Primary School in Wuse Zone 1, Melaye said that it was unacceptable to allow such dilapidated facilities as he met there in any school in Abuja.

He expressed concern for the health of the pupils in the school.

His words:
“We are worried about the hygienic condition of the students that are in this school. This is an epidemic break out from very unhygienic conditions that I am seeing here.

“We are going to summon the Minister, the Permanent Secretary and the Secretary of Education. We want to know what is happening to the allocation of the education sector of the FCT.

“This has become a hide out for criminals. We are not even sure of those living in all these batchers (make-shift structures) that are scattered everywhere here. One is just surprised that, if a school within the metropolis, in the heart of Abuja can be this dilapidated, that it become a hideout for criminals, and hoodlums; one will be wondering what is happening to schools that are in the satellite towns and suburbs of Abuja because this is the heart of the city that is supposed to be the capital city, the school within the metropolis is this exposed to crime and criminality.

“No chairs, no windows and this is the heart of the city that is supposed to be capital of the most populous black country in Africa. This is unacceptable.

“We find people living within the premises and we are not sure of the people living within the school premises, they come back at night after school hours to sleep. The assembly hall is in a very precarious situation, we do not expect that anybody will build an assembly hall like this and leave it in this age and time in heart of the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We will investigate this and we will make sure that in 2017 budget provision is made for the fencing and rehabilitation of this school and all illegal structures must be cleared. We are going to write to FCT Minister and Commissioner of Police to make sure that this place is cleared immediately”