“I learnt about it on television,” Wike speaks on FCT schools’ closure drama

By Angela Atabo

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike has said he learnt about closure of schools in the territory over alleged security threats on television.

Wike who spoke after inspecting ongoing infrastructure projects in Guzape, Abuja on Wednesday lamented that such decision was taken without carrying him along.

He added that he did not directe the shutdown of schools in FCT because there is no need to do so.

“It is unimaginable how people could take such a decision without the head of the affairs knowing. It’s very unfortunate.

“I was watching television last night and I saw a school that FCT has directed that schools should be shut down. I couldn’t believe it,” Wike said.

He added that following the television broadcast, he had to call the Mandate Secretary of Education Secretariat to inquire about who gave the order.

Of course, he couldn’t reply then I had to get to the details. I came to know about the circular that was given to all the schools without our approval.

“I know that we are having a security council meeting today, so I called the Commissioner of Police and other authorities and I said, who did this?

“They said, it’s not in their agenda and there’s no way because we don’t have such a threat that will make us shut down the schools”.

The minister explained that because of that the Mandate Secretary of Education, Dr Danlami Hayyo has been suspended indefinitely and the Directors who were involved would be sanctioned according to civil service rules.

He stressed that nobody involved in this saga would be forgiven, adding that even him as the FCT Minister couldn’t give such a directive without President Tinubu’s approval.

“This is the FCT. Do you know what that tells? That there’s insecurity in the FCT.

“Kaduna has never shut down, Nassarawa has never shut down, and Kogi never shut down. So how will you say we were threatened?

“The security agencies do everything they can to make sure that schools operate smoothly.

Recall that the Director, School Services, FCT Secondary Education Board, Aishatu Alhassan, had on Tuesday signed a circular directing early closure of public senior secondary schools.

Alhassan, who claimed that the directive followed Hayyo’s approval, asked the schools to close on or before Nov. 28.

But in a swift reaction, Hayyo denied giving such approval saying “no such decision was taken at any level of the Administration.”

The mandate secretary, who described the circular as “fake”, told journalists that he never endorsed the circular.

According to him, only the FCT Minister could sign such a circular and not a director of any department.

“Seriously, the way you saw the circular is the same way that I saw it, which I believe is a wrong circular because the director that signed the circular has no right to do that”.

However, in a dramatic turn of event, shortly after the interview, Mr Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to Wike on Public Communications and Social Media, announced the immediate suspension of Hayyo over the incident.

Olayinka in a statement, added that acting FCT Head of Service, Mrs Nancy Sabanti Nathan, had also been mandated to discipline Alhassan, in accordance with the civil service rules.

The spokesman described the report on early closure of schools as “false and misleading”, and urged parents, students, and school authorities to dismiss the rumour.

He stressed that the approved academic calendar remained unchanged.

Olayinka assured residents of the FCT, especially students of adequate security, adding that the Minister has directed the resumption of Operation Sweep and other security initiatives in the federal capital. (NAN)