BRIEFSDISTURBED by the spate of absenteeism among teachers of secondary schools in Borno State, the Commissioner of Education, Inuwa Musa Kubo, has warned affected teachers to quit or contribute their quota towards improving the education sector.The commissioner stated this on Thursday when he paid an unscheduled visit to a secondary school in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.He described absence of the principal, his deputies and a large number of teachers during school hours as intolerable, coming at a time when the state administration has declared an emergency in the education sector.He said: 'Government would not wait and allow absenteeism among workers rubbish its intention to improve this sector. The Kashim Shettima administration has spent a lot of money to renovate eight secondary schools and build new ones. It has purchased instructional materials and textbooks for students and teachers and introduced incentives to encourage teachers.'But I am surprised and disappointed that most of the teachers were not even on duty to teach these students. I decided to embark on this unscheduled visit so as to see things for myself. And I must confess that I am not happy at all about this. Any teacher who is not ready to stay in school should quit immediately.State Awards N28b Roads ContractFrom Njadvara Musa, MaiduguriTHE Borno State Government has awarded contracts for the construction of five roads at a cost of N28.4b. The projects, when completed, would decongest flow of traffic in Maiduguri metropolis. The disclosure was made in Maiduguri, yesterday, by the Commissioner of Works and Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Bukar.Bukar said the roads would also boost economic activities such as fishing and farming in the Lake Chad Basin Areas. Speaking on compensations of residents affected by the projects, he said: 'The Borno State Executive Council (SEC) has approved the payment of N680m.'PDP Kicks-offCouncil Election CampaignsFrom Isah Ibrahim, GusauTHE Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] Zamfara State chapter, yesterday, kicked-off its local council chairmanship and councillorship campaign for the Saturday June 23, 2012 elections.Speaking during the flag-off and inauguration of its candidates at the Gusau Airstrip, immediate past governor, Alhaji Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, called on party supporters to come out en masse and vote for PDP'S candidates at the local councils level.He said his party would not hesitate to take necessary action against the state Independent Electoral Commission if it refuses to declare its candidates victors wherever they win in the forthcoming general elections.The former governor explained that his party supporters have been behind government programmes and activities since they lot the 2011 April polls.'I would like to call on my son-in-law, the state governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, to ensure that whosoever wins an election, irrespective of his party, is declared winner. Our party supporters are peace lovers and that is why, since we lost, there was no record of political violence in the state,' said Shinkafi.He called on the state governor to abandon his party [ANPP] and join the PDP in order to bring more development to the state through federal projects.He also urged party supporters to be law abiding and ensure votes are counted at respective polling units, stressing need for a peaceful, free and fair election.
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