Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has shut the door on those he described as portfolio contractors who he accused of being in the habit of doing shoddy jobs for the state government.
Ugwuanyi, while presenting school furniture to the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (UBE), said that only seasoned contractors would henceforth be engaged to work in the state.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Cecelia Ezeilo, reiterated his appeal to contractors to deliver quality assured jobs in line with agreed specifications.
He said that the state government would no longer tolerate contractors who abandon projects after mobilization, insisting that contractual terms must be met.
Ugwuanyi said that he was moved to donate the school furniture due to the situation and challenges in the public schools, where pupils study under unfriendly circumstances.
He said that his administration would embark on massive turnaround of infrastructure in public schools in the state, promising that the situation would never be the same again.
The governor expressed satisfaction with the ongoing reconstruction of 370 classroom blocks in the state, which he said, had attained 90 per cent completion.
“We are committed to ensuring that our children are comfortable in their classrooms in order to make the job of teaching easier for the teachers.
“We shall continue to respond to the needs of these children in schools because their comfort and safety today guarantee the comfort and safety of our future.”
Ugwuanyi said that education remained a priority in his reform agenda, being the fulcrum for sustainable development.
Responding, the Chairman of ENSUBEB, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, said the gesture would help to boost the morale of pupils and teachers, adding that the furniture would be equitably shared to benefitting schools across the state.
He urged the education secretaries to generate the list of the beneficiaries in line with their scale of need. [myad]
