Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has suspended the chairman and members of the State Teachers Service Commission (TSC) following allegations of irregularities in a recent teacher recruitment process. The Governor expressed his concerns after reports surfaced that the TSC had recruited over 1,000 teachers, exceeding the 1,000 positions he had approved. Governor Sule, who had only authorized the hiring of 1,000 teachers, was alarmed by claims that the TSC had recruited an additional 750 personnel without proper clearance.
The suspension came after a meeting at the Government House in Lafia, where the Governor instructed the Secretary to the State Government to form a three-member committee to investigate the matter. Governor Sule condemned the actions of the TSC and expressed frustration over the damage to his reputation, as he had been blamed for the non-payment of salaries to teachers who were not officially sanctioned for employment.
In his remarks, Governor Sule emphasized that while 50 additional slots had been included as contingency, the TSC’s actions went beyond what was approved. He lamented that many teachers, particularly in rural areas, were still without sufficient staff, with reports indicating that some teachers preferred urban postings over rural ones. The Governor also highlighted allegations of corruption, with claims that individuals had paid money to secure teaching positions.
The Commissioner for Education, Dr. John Mamman, reiterated that the Governor had only approved the recruitment of 1,000 teachers, alongside the regularization of existing appointments. He also confirmed that these 1,000 teachers had been paid their salaries, but concerns persisted regarding the non-payment of other teachers. Dr. Mamman suggested that the TSC needed to be thoroughly investigated to clarify the situation.
During the meeting, TSC officials presented conflicting accounts of the recruitment process. The suspended chairman, Mohammed Abubakar Gada, argued that 750 additional teachers had been hired to replace those who had left, while the TSC Secretary, Labaran Shafa, claimed that more than 1,000 extra teachers had been recruited.
