Teachers in Ekiti State under the aegis of Positive Minds Club (PMC) for Ekiti Teachers, have hailed the House of Representatives for passing a vote of no confidence on the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, over his refusal to attend the House sectoral debate on the steel sector to find solutions to the troubled Ajaokuta Steel Plant held yesterday.
The PMC, which is a gathering of retired and serving teachers in Ekiti State, also called for the immediate sack of Dr Fayemi, who is a former governor of the State, and saluted the courage of the Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who moved the motion of no confidence vote, not minding political affiliation.
Rising from its meeting in Ado Ekiti on Friday, the teachers said in a communique signed by the PMC President, Comrade Patrick Ojo and Public Relations Officer, Comrade Olusola Agbele and read to journalists that “By passing a vote of no confidence on Dr Fayemi, who has never hidden his hatred for teachers in Ekiti State and Nigeria in general, the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled House of Representatives has further exposed him as lacking competence and integrity to continue to hold any public office in Nigeria.”
They called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the minister and get a better replacement among APC members in Ekiti State, noting that he lacked the required competence and integrity to hold public office.
The statement read in part; “In saner climes, Dr Fayemi would have resigned or be sacked by now.
“Nigerians should be reminded that consequent upon his indictment by a duly constituted Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which probed his tenure as governor of Ekiti State between 2010 and 2014; Dr Fayemi was banned from holding public office in the state for 10 years.
“It should also be noted that the same way Dr Fayemi held the House of Representatives with contempt yesterday was the way he refused to appear before the Ekiti State House of Assembly and the Judicial Commission of Inquiry.
“As Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Fayemi did not only loot the treasury with reckless abandon and plunge the State into debt; he killed the morale of teachers by demoting them and imposing unwarranted Competency Test on them, thus collapsing education in the State. He has also continued to lend support to needless sacking of teachers in the country, especially in Kaduna State.
“Interestingly, the same teachers that he termed as incompetent were the ones still teaching pupils in Ekiti schools, and have achieved first position in NECO Exams twice and tremendous improvement in WASSCE.
“Even as a minister, nothing can be pointed to in Ekiti as his impact despite the solid minerals that abound in the State.
“Therefore, such a character lacked the required competence and integrity to hold public office and we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack him and get a better replacement, which abounds in Ekiti.
“Among APC members in Ekiti State, there are competent people who will represent the State better in the Federal Executive Council (FEC)