Academic staff at the Benjamin Uwajumogu State College of Education in Imo have threatened to embark on a strike.

NAN reports that the staffers called on Hope Uzodimma, the state governor, to intervene in a management crisis plaguing the institution.

The crisis, it is understood, borders on the acting provost Maryrose Nwachukwu, resource usage, and contract award procedures.

The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) at the institution accused Nwachukwu of abusing her powers and awarding contracts without due process.

It stated that the provost had been acting for 30 months but paid imprest for only five months to directors, deans, and department heads.

Imprests are funds used in an organisation for small expenditures and are usually restored to a fixed amount periodically.

The union claimed that directors, deans, and department heads have been using their funds to prepare accreditation documents and logistics since March 2024.

It alleged that the provost procured items single-handedly and awarded TETFund contracts without academic deans and HOD involvement or due process.

It accused Nwachukwu of solely accessing TETFund for microteaching laboratory equipment without the knowledge of the HOD of the office.

COEASU argued that TETFund projects executed under her watch were poorly executed and did not follow the college’s development plan.

“She awards TETFund contracts in the college without following the Procurement Act 2007 guidelines and has awarded over N1.5 billion contract without tenders board, which comprises academic deans and HODs,” the union said.

The COEASU chairman Wilson Amandi and its secretary in the college Benedict Amuchie asked the state government to intervene.

Both executives said the union is forced to consider embarking on a strike in two weeks, should the matter remain unresolved.

The union expressed concern that the claims of insecurity cited for the non-provision of the essentials were not investigated.

It accused the provost of terminating the acting bursar’s appointment without reason, forcing him to hand over to a new appointee.

COEASU said it wrote letters seeking state intervention through the chief of staff Ferdinard Uzodimma and alleged that Nwachukwu ignored invitations to meet the governor’s aide.

Reacting, the provost described COEASU’s allegations as “baseless”, insisting that her actions were based on state directives.

On the sacked bursar, Nwachukwu said the college did not have a governing council and that the commissioner of education oversees the affairs of the institution.

The West African Examinations Council has introduced resit examinations for candidates.

This was said to allow them to retake their West African Senior Secondary Examinations papers as early as January and February 2025.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show in Ghana on Sunday, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, confirmed the development.

“Students who access their results now and realise they need to resit one or two papers have until 8th January to register online through our website or at WAEC-accredited internet cafés.

“The exams will take place from 24th January to 15th February 2025,” Kapi stated.

Kapi further noted that students whose results have been cancelled are also eligible to sit the WASSCE PC1 exams, provided they have not been banned for malpractice.

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has banned all forms of payments in primary and secondary schools in the state, marking the enforcement of compulsory school attendance for children of school age.

The governor introduced an imprest account system for school principals and headteachers to manage the running of schools, with specific monthly allowances for their operations.

Otti made this announcement in his New Year speech on Wednesday, stating, “We have stopped all forms of payments in primary and secondary schools. Not even PTA levies should be charged to any parent or guardian in any public school in the state.

“We have introduced an imprest account system for the running of schools. Headteachers and school principals are now entitled to specific sums every month for managing the day-to-day operations of their schools.

“There is, therefore, no excuse to extort or deny any child the opportunities that come with learning and enlightenment. We shall be strict with enforcement and it will be a grievous mistake to test our will.”

The governor also emphasised the state’s commitment to enforcing compulsory attendance for children of school age in schools across Abia.

He added that his administration was set to allocate 35 per cent of the entire budget to interventions in the education and health sectors.

Otti said, “We shall fast-track efforts to remake our schools into centres of excellence in effective teaching and learning.

“As you may know, the law mandating all children of school age to be in school every school day comes into effect today. As soon as the new school term begins later in the month, it will be unlawful to find any child outside the walls of the classroom during school hours.”

The governor also shared his administration’s urgency to build systems, rebuild the state, and realign governance priorities to reflect the true aspirations of the people.

“We have since evolved a system that prioritises the needs of the downtrodden by paying attention, listening carefully and channelling public resources to where they yield the highest social and economic dividends to the majority by taking on very difficult but economically and socially significant projects in road infrastructure development, health and education, waste management and environmental recoveries,” he said.

Governor Otti reiterated the state’s focus on security, warning that his government would not hesitate to deploy its full might against any individual or group posing a threat to the safety of residents.

“We shall also continue to prioritise the security of lives and property, adopting necessary measures to keep criminals and their sponsors out of the state. Again, I would like to restate that we shall not hesitate to deploy the full might of the government against any individual or group whose activities pose a threat to the safety of our people,” he emphasised.

In line with the New Year plans, Otti announced a provision of N18.9bn to support economically vulnerable individuals and families.