Kunle Adelabu
-Council Chairmen, teachers not disposed to his return
Allegations have continued to trail the administration of Mr Amusa Afolabi Jumoken, the Executive Secretary (ES), Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), Ikorodu Local Government, as he rounded off his first term of five years in office, later this month.
Amusa received his letter of approval/appointment from the Chairmen in Ikorodu Local Government on May 14, 2020, but was confirmed by the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB) at the end of June. Invariably, his term started when he was confirmed by LSUBEB and so, he is expected to complete his tenure at the end of this month.
But THE IMPACT gathered that he has been making moves to get a second term which he confirmed to our reporter who visited him in his office to hear his side of allegations raised against him by some staff under the aegis of Concern Ikorodu Indigenes.
The allegations were contained in petitions by some teachers and staff of the LGEA under the aegis of the Concerned Ikorodu Indigenes, sent to traditional rulers, political leaders and other stakeholders in Ikorodu Division, following a publication (not by THE IMPACT), last month where the outgoing ES detailed his achievements in office in the last five years.
“Sequel to the end of tenure of Mr. Amusa Afolabi Jumoken, the Education Secretary, Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), Ikorodu, and furtherance to his efforts and gimmicks to be reappointed, we, the undersigned Concerned Ikrodu Indigenes, hereby, write to put a stop to it in order to give the Ikorodu Constituency II, the opportunity to replace him with another candidate that knows the nitty gritty of education administration, cultural value, welfare and social well – being of the people,” the petitioners said.
The petitioners alleged that all that he rolled out as achievements were all lies and a fabrication of his imagination. They claimed that the outgoing ES did little or nothing in terms of establishment of new schools, computer centres, vocational centres, EMIS reading rooms and sick bay among other infrastructures. Rather, the petitioners said that the communities and political office holders were the ones that did everything to establish/ facilitate those facilities.
He was also accused of not prioritizing teachers training and security in schools.
“No training has been organized for teachers under his administration, not even a step down training where some senior teachers trained at SUBEB level impart such to junior teachers in the LGEA.”
“Agricultural Education Training Programme (AETP) is a federal government programme that cut – across the country, but which he always obstructed its operation in the name of selfish supervision due to financial involvement.
“Above are his claims of achievements which are all lies sir. All our counter – claims are subject to investigation for your confirmation. Staff are afraid to come up with complaints, because they are afraid of him as they considered him as a “JUJU MAN”, they alleged.
The petitioners also highlighted reasons why Mr Amusa should not be allowed to return for the second term, adducing administrative errors, embezzlement of funds, discrimination of staff rationalization, force of sale of adire clothes, anti -party activities, disrespect for authorities, distortion of programmes and (allowing) unauthorised attendee at management meetings.
“In his five years tenure, he did not acquaint himself with the agency. His administration is lopsided and he always delegated the assignment of the Human Resources Management to the Basic Education Quality Assurance Section, and the School Services Support Service Section work to be done by the Social Mobilisation Section e.t.c., because of personal grievances with the HoDs”, the Concerned Teachers alleged while pointing out his alleged administrative errors.
On the allegation of embezzlement, petitioners claimed that:
“As we speak, there are no materials in the store to work with effectively even in the office. There are no equipment. We usually type official letters at business centres with personal money.
“This also goes for staff welfare. In the last five years, all our gifts during the festive period were not given. There is no Christmas or End of the year bonus and gifts which we have been collecting since the inception of the LGEA. The staff running cost was removed since 2020, till date.
Furthermore, the Concerned Ikorodu Indigenes also alleged that Mr Amusa usually used transfers as means of victimizing staff.
“Mr Amusa Afolabi Jumoken always transfers staff without any official cause of action, e.g., he transferred a staff five times within a month, telling the concerned staff that he owns the LGEA Ikorodu and no leader can checkmate him on his actions. Even when the former Deputy Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Wasiu Eshinlokun intervened, he called his bluff.
“He always forced the purchase of Adire clothes on staff at a higher cost compared to market price. It is compulsory for the head teachers to buy and sell the clothes to their staff. Head teachers must pay for the clothes given to him/her if the staff refuse to buy.
“Distortion of programmes: This is another avenue where he extorts the head teachers and staff that they must compulsorily pay a sum of fifteen thousand naira (N15, 000.00) with one Bacchus tonic wine for him and his wife, either you organise school inter – house sports or not. While he collects N10, 000, N5000 is paid to his wife”, they alleged.
They also alleged that he usually brought his wife into critical meetings of the LGEA.
“Contrary to the ethics of management of information in the service, Mr Amusa Afolabi Jumoken has been consistently welcoming his wife to the management meetings (a development) which most Head of Sections have been complaining about to no avail.
“Your Excellency sir, we passionately beg you not to return Mr. Amusa Afolabi Jumoken as the Education Secretary of this great kingdom, because of all his bad characters, attitudes and lack of respect for elders. All our claims are not limited (to what we have enumerated) here alone, it goes beyond that, and several complaints, including the interference by his wife in official assignment where staff “must settle”, before they could get appointment for duty post, have been lodged with SUBEB and the Ministry of Education”, the petitioners alleged.
An influential primary school teacher, who also spoke with our reporter, commended the ES for bringing his experience to bear in the area of lobbying for infrastructures and facilities in schools, but described him a failure when it comes to human resource management.
“Well, he has brought his experience to bear as a former Principal, especially in the area of lobbying political office holders and other stakeholders to facilitate infrastructures and projects, but he is a total failure when it comes to human resource management.
“He has been using his office and power to victimize and harass staff, especially in the area of transferring teachers. This is a gross abuse of office. So, everything said in the petition is true.
“A teacher in the last six months has been transferred four to five months for no justification,” he alleged.
The concerned teacher further said: “He is using transfer to witch-hunt staff and that is destabilizing the system.
“Staff welfare was also very low during his administration. His continued stay in office as the ES would be detrimental to staff. He is not popular at all among staff and he does not see our welfare as a priority”, he added.
Meanwhile, speaking with Mr Amusa in his temporary office at the Methodist Primary School hall, he dismissed the allegations, stating that the problems with many of the staff of the LGEA and teachers are that they are not ready for necessary changes.
He said that he has made several impacts on all areas of the management of the primary school system in the last five years, while also expressing his desire to return for another term of five years.
On the allegations of deployment of teachers as a means of victimization, Alhaji Amusa stated that transfer of teachers are based on proximity, needs and financial implications to teachers.
“Ikorodu as a local government presently has 69 schools and I always move round the schools so that I can familiarize myself with the challenges and progress of these schools. In a situation, whereby, I get to a school with 50 pupils and with just two teachers, I will have no other option other than redeploy teachers from another school to such school and I always do that with the consent of the head teachers.
“If there is a contrary opinion from the head teacher, I will let him know that in the primary school system, it is a teacher to a classroom and if the population in a classroom is more than 60, a new classroom must be created,” he said.
He further explained that the issue of transfer of teachers three times within a year or two has to do with proximity and need.
“There are some schools that are in areas that are disadvantaged where teachers don’t want to go and we must post them there to teach”.
The ES also said that he has used the transferring of teachers to address shortage of teachers in some schools, claiming that that has led to a guard and a cleaner being asked to teach in some schools before his emergence as the ES. He praised Dr. Saheed Ibikunle, a member of the Lagos State Universal Education Board, for deploying enough teachers to Ikorodu.
Again, Mr Amusa alleged that those complaining are teachers that don’t want a change, and emphasised that proximity, economic power and need are accounted for deployments.
Responding to the allegations that he is forcing teachers to buy Adire fabrics from his wife, he said that:
“It is a fact that my wife deals in Adire fabrics, but we don’t force teachers to buy. However, some schools usually requested for it on the grounds that they prefer Adire fabrics to t-shirts for their programmes. It is usually through requests from head teachers. We do have requests from schools, even private schools and schools from other LGEAs”.
Alhaji Amusa argued that not all the schools make requests for the Adire clothes but some does, and that that does not imply that they are being forced.
On the allegation that his wife intefered in official matters, he said: “It is not true that my wife does interfere in official matters.”
He explained that his wife is always in his office, because she has vision challenges, adding that she normally stayed with the non – teaching staff and not in his official office.
Alhaji Amusa also said that the head teachers and teachers usually come to her to beg him on their behalf.
While responding to the allegation that his administration did not initiate the establishment of new schools, ICT centres and other facilities, Mr Amusa said that he met 62 primary schools when he assumed office five years ago, but that the number has increased to is 69 today.
“I met 62 schools and more were added when I assumed office, and if the last school meets the LSUBEB requirements, it will be 70. Those making the allegations do not know what it takes to be Education Secretary. Schools are usually established based on requests from communities.
“Single handedly, when I discovered that Methodist Primary School, Ewu – Elepe, was over-populated, that is a school with 68 teachers and about 900 pupils. It was Hon. Babajimi Benson that assisted us in building a block of six classrooms to complement the existing structures which I used in creating Methodist Primary School II, Elepe, established in 2022. It was not established by any other person but me.
“I also have inputs in the establishment of other schools, because I usually meet with the communities that are requesting and liaise with LSUBEB.
“I have established more schools for special students apart from the only one that I met. I also increased the number of the Art and Craft centre to four from the one I met on ground.
“During my time, the number of computer centres have also increased. Aside from the one donated by Hon. Jimi Benson within the LGEA premises, there are new ones in Igbogbo. Mowo -Nla, Imota, Isawo. It is the same with Home Economic Centre which was only located in Ikorodu, but presently, Ijede and Imota now have theirs within these resources”, Mr Amusa claimed.
He also listed Egbin Primary School, Egbin, Idera Primary School, Salvation Army Primary School and others which he also said he intervened in their establishment.
He also listed the rehabilitation of the LGEA secretariat as part of his achievements.
“It is my administration that is rehabilitating the LGEA secretariat. The situation with the building was so pathetic that anytime that I was going home, I would have to place about five buckets in different locations inside my office to collect rain water, because the roof was leaking.
“I went to LSUBEB for funding but they told me that I have been on their neck for four years, because I have been writing and reminding them. I was also writing to the Ministry ditto School Rehabilitation Committee at Opebi, Ikeja, and LSUBEB and luckily, we eventually got an intervention”, he said.
Speaking on welfare of staff and teachers, another area which the petitioners and many staff said that he has not lived up to their expectations, the Executive Secretary, however, denied the accusation.
“If you stay longer here, you will have papers that I always sign for them. It is mainly about their health. They usually complain of different kind of ailment like hypertension, malaria and others”.
He said that the incessant complaints from staff made him establish a clinic within the premises with the help of his friends which cost over N2million.
“So, primary school teachers, pupils and LGEA staff are receiving treatments free and are given free drugs. What do you call that one, is it not about their welfare?”, he asked rhetorically.
He also said that he usually organizes an end of the year party for the staff during which he honoured outstanding ones.
The Ikorodu LGEA Education Secretary also narrated his administration’s efforts in providing electricity in schools and at the LGEA secretariat. He queried what the head teachers are doing with their running cost.
“When I assumed office as the Education Secretary, I inherited unpaid electricity bills to the tune of N450, 000, and we started paying the bills till the whole bills was offset.
“The school headteachers do collect running costs, what are they using them for?
“Presently, there are 16 schools that I am managing their security. Ten of them are being paid through the LGEA funds. Legion officers are working at Owode Ibelefun 24 hours and Methodist Primary School, they are there ditto for LGA Primary School, Ipakodo. The same thing goes for the Methodist Primary School, Gberigbe and others.
“What do you think that N1.4 million naira can do in a month to maintain all these. I fueled my car and when I got here, I met an old generator that we repair at cost of N50, 000 or N60, 000, but along the line, I bought eight new generators for all the departments, including the clinic.
“Also as part of the welfare, I always honoured them during the Founder’s Day, and also contributed to the staff end of the year party. What do you call that if not part of welfare?
“Regarding schools, I cannot begin to go to schools to give them anything, because the money given to me cannot even take care of the LGEA, let alone to take care of 70 schools,”, he said.
While stating that LGEA under him is also training and organizing workshops for its staff, he added that none of the councils in Ikorodu, gave him a dime to run the LGEA.
Mr Amusa, while reacting to the allegation that he always forced schools to buy Bacchus wine and pay him whenever any school is having inter – house sports or any other programme, he said that the wine being given to hm is voluntary and it is normal that they entertain him whenever he goes to school inter – house sports and other programmes and not that they are compelled.
While expressing his desire to be allowed to have another term, Mr Amusa said that the allegations are meant to prevent his return.
“I think that all these allegations are due to the fact that my first term tenure is coming to an end, and they aleady have another person to replace me with. If that is the case, only God puts man in position.
“But I am happy that I am engaged in this place and I have discharged my duty. I am glad that the generations yet unborn will be happy at the legacy that I have laid down.
“If I am given the opportunity to go for a second term, the whole thing would be achievable ,” he said.
Meanwhile, our reporter gathered that the six council chairmen in Ikorodu, are not disposed to signing Mr Amusa’s return as the Education Secretary, due to allegations and his unpopularity.
It was gathered that he failed to carry along the executive chairmen that approved his appointment five years ago in most of his activities, even when such were being carried out within their domains.
