SUBEB has executed 639 projects between 2015 and 2023 – Dr Odey

 

By Kelvin Obambon

Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Stephen Odey, has said that the board under his leadership has executed a total of 639 projects between 2015 and 2023.

Dr Odey disclosed this on Tuesday at a press conference in his office in Calabar where he highlighted achievements of the board as it winds down activities ahead of 29 May handing over to a new administration in the state.

According to him, SUBEB within the period under review, awarded a total of 639 projects of which 616 were successfully completed and handed over.

“Let me give you a brief of our performance between 2015 to 2023. I will start by telling you that we awarded some contracts – total number of projects executed was 639 so far. Total number of completed projects is about 616 which is about 96.4 percent. And then total number of abandoned projects from 2011-2015, which of course was not during our administration, there was 30. And then the total number of projects we awarded from the abandoned projects was 20. As I speak, the only abandoned projects that we have from 2011-2015 is now 10 as against the 30 we met.”

Read Also: IPOB alleges conspiracy with the silence of international organisations on Kanu’s detention 

The SUBEB Chairman further stated that Cross River baseline infrastructure at basic education level before 2015 stood at 21 percent, adding that currently the baseline has risen to 47 percent, which means the board had constructed 1,374 classrooms across the state.

Odey clarified that SUBEB was fair enough to ensure that projects were sited in each of the 18 local government areas of the state, even as he maintained that criteria such as number of schools in each LGA and needs were taken into consideration, which sometimes accounted for the uneven distribution of projects and employment.

“A lot of persons don’t even know how SUBEB operates. It is important that we give you the number of schools we have per local government. We have a total of 1,014 schools in Cross River State. The breakdown is as follows: Abi has 50, Akamkpa has 67, Akpabuyo has 28, Bakassi has 22, Bekwara has 58, Biase has 61, Boki has 95, Calabar Municipality has 23 schools, Calabar South has 21, Etung has 27 schools, Ikom has 70, Obanliku has 82, Obubra has 80, Obudu has 73, Odukpani has 72, Ogoja has 93, Yakurr has 54 and Yala local government has 138 schools.

“Those are the number of schools we have in the state. And it will interest you to note that when we are distributing facilities or building infrastructure in these schools, we put into consideration the number of schools in those local government. We don’t just distribute projects. We consider the number of students/pupils we have in the local government and what are the needs of those schools.”

He said the board under his watch carried out the largest employment, where 2,864 persons were enlisted into the teaching service in line with due process. He also stated that the personnel audit carried out by SUBEB led to the discovery of large number of unqualified teachers who had fake certificates.

Dr Odey further disclosed that the current board is the first to directly run junior secondary schools which are located in Yala, Abi and Akpabuyo local government areas.