Enugu Teachers Endorse Mbah, Tinubu for Second Term, Cite Education Reforms

Our Reporter 

ENUGU — Teachers in public and private schools in Enugu State have endorsed Governor Peter Mbah for a second term and President Bola Tinubu for re-election in 2027, citing improved teachers’ welfare, regular promotions, increased education funding and ongoing reforms in the sector.

The teachers made their position known on Saturday during an endorsement rally organised by the Teachers for Grassroots Movement (TGM) at Okpara Square, Enugu, following a march through parts of the state capital by more than 12,000 participants.

The endorsement came as Governor Mbah highlighted his administration’s investments in education, including the construction of more than 260 Smart Green Schools, recruitment of teachers and provision of learning materials and other support for pupils.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Theophilus Odo, described Mbah as a caring governor who had taken concrete steps to address longstanding challenges in the education sector.

Odo recalled that Mbah had supported the domestication of harmonised retirement benefits for teachers before becoming governor, adding that his administration had also commenced the recruitment of thousands of teachers and invested in their professional development.

He said the construction of Smart Green Schools had improved the learning environment for pupils, while teachers were benefiting from timely salaries and the clearance of outstanding promotions.

“On behalf of the NUT, I want to say that we are happy today because God has given us a caring governor, Peter Mbah,” he said.

Odo added, “So, we, the teachers, are endorsing our governor for a second term in office. The votes of our teachers are only for Governor Mbah.”

The Chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in Enugu State, Nelson Agu, said private school teachers had joined an endorsement rally of this nature in the state for the first time to show support for what he described as the governor’s education revolution.

Agu said the introduction of Smart Green Schools had compelled private school proprietors to upgrade their facilities and improve their standards to remain competitive.

“When you came and started the idea of over 260 Smart Green Schools, we thought we were out of service. But we went and upgraded our schools to meet the required standards,” he said.

He also commended the administration for allocating 33 per cent of the state budget to education for three consecutive years.

The Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Enugu State, Simeon Akaeme, said the Mbah administration had restored the dignity of teachers through investments in infrastructure and social services.

Similarly, the Director-General of TGM, Dr Nwakaego Aja, described education as a pathway to liberation, self-reliance and economic development.

Aja said the movement had more than 30,000 teachers across the state and assured the governor of their support, adding that members would communicate the administration’s programmes to communities and other grassroots constituencies.

“We, the teachers, are not ingrates. We see what you are doing. You promised disruptive innovation, and you have delivered disruptive innovation. That is why we are here,” she said.

Aja also declared the group’s support for the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying its members would take the party’s message to communities, staff rooms, markets and polling units ahead of the 2027 general election.

The Commissioner for Education and patron of TGM, Prof. Ndubueze Mbah, described the endorsement as an indication of support for the governor and the President ahead of the elections.

He thanked the teachers for supporting the administration’s vision of using education as a foundation for the state’s development, saying the government had committed substantial resources to expanding access to quality education.

In his remarks, Governor Mbah said the endorsement was significant because the success of his administration’s development agenda depended largely on teachers and the education system.

He said his administration’s ambitions to grow Enugu’s economy, attract investment and position the state as a leading destination for business, tourism and living standards could not be achieved without a transformed education sector.

“That is why it appears as if we are insane about education when you consider what we are doing in the sector — building over 7,000 classrooms,” the governor said.

Mbah listed the provision of more than 25,000 desktop computers, over 5,000 tablets, school furniture, free feeding and uniforms among the interventions aimed at improving teaching and learning.

He said the government’s priority was to transform the education system and equip children with the knowledge and skills required to contribute to the state’s economic development.

“For us, it is about transformation — transforming an education system. And that whole transformation, whether we fail or succeed, would lie largely in your hands,” he said.

The governor praised teachers for their role in shaping the future of children, assuring them that his administration valued their contributions to the state’s development.

Mbah also acknowledged the Federal Government’s economic reforms, saying they had made more resources available to states to execute development projects, including investments in education.

He cited the construction of Smart Green Schools across the state’s 260 political wards as part of the administration’s efforts to expand access to modern educational facilities.

The wife of the governor, Mrs Nkechinyere Mbah, represented by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Ngozi Enih, said the endorsement was recognition of an administration that had made education central to its development agenda.

The event was attended by government officials, political and community leaders, education stakeholders and teachers from across the state.