Enugu Teachers’ Movement Endorses Tinubu, Mbah for Re-election

 

By Atlantic Reports

Teachers attending a rally organised by the Teachers’ Grassroots Movement for Peter Mbah and Bola Tinubu have endorsed the president and Enugu State governor for re-election, citing investments in education and improvements in teachers’ welfare.

The event took place at Okpara Square, Enugu, on Saturday, bringing together teachers from public, private and mission primary and secondary schools across the state.

Speakers praised the Mbah administration’s recruitment programmes, school infrastructure and professional training. The organisers said they would mobilise support for both leaders ahead of the 2027 elections.

Union Leader Cites Recruitment and Welfare

The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Enugu State chapter, Comrade Theophilus Odoh, said the governor had prioritised teachers’ welfare and supported improvements in their conditions of service.

Odoh recalled Mbah’s support for the harmonisation of teachers’ retirement age and years of service before he became governor.

He said the recruitment of more than 4,000 teachers had helped address staffing shortages in public schools, while further recruitment was expected to strengthen the workforce.

According to Odoh, prompt salary payments, the clearance of outstanding promotions and access to seminars, workshops and other training programmes had improved morale.

He also described the Smart Green Schools programme as an innovation benefiting teachers and pupils, saying the endorsement reflected support for continuity.

Government Outlines Education Investments

The Commissioner for Education, Professor Ndubueze Mba, said the state had developed 269 Smart Green Schools, provided 6,500 smart boards and distributed 269,000 free school uniforms.

He said the administration was also expanding educational opportunities through Smart Senior Secondary Schools, technical and vocational education and training colleges, and two new universities.

Mba added that the government had authorised further teacher recruitment.

He said participants came from communities across the state’s 17 local government areas, which he described as evidence of the reach of the administration’s education reforms.

The figures were presented by government officials. The supplied account did not include an independent assessment of school functionality, staffing levels or improvements in learning outcomes.

Movement Plans Grassroots Campaign

The movement’s state coordinator, Dr Nwakaego Ajah, said its support was informed by the governor’s emphasis on education as a foundation for economic development.

She said the group had coordinators in every local government area and political ward and would promote the administration’s record in communities, staff rooms, parent-teacher associations, School-Based Management Committees, markets and polling units.

Ajah urged teachers to support the continuation of the reforms and said the movement would campaign for Mbah and Tinubu.

Although both leaders received endorsements, the reasons detailed by speakers focused largely on the Enugu governor’s education policies.

Mbah Says Education Spending Is a Necessity

Responding, Mbah described teachers as central to the state’s development ambitions and said their support carried particular significance.

He put participation in the endorsement at more than 30,000 teachers. No independently verified attendance figure was provided in the supplied account.

The governor said his administration was allocating 33 per cent of its total budget to education, arguing that inadequate investment would create greater future costs through poverty, insecurity and unemployment.

He listed investments including 7,000 classrooms, 464,000 items of furniture, 25,000 desktop computers and more than 5,000 tablets.

The budget share represents an allocation, while the account did not specify actual expenditure or distinguish the completion and delivery status of each item listed.

Mbah urged continued support for Tinubu and said the endorsement strengthened his bid to return to Government House in 2027.

The rally gives both leaders an organised support network among participating teachers. Beyond the campaign, the public test of the education investments will be their contribution to effective teaching, functional schools and better learning opportunities for pupils across Enugu State.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.