UbongAbasi Ise

By UbongAbasi Ise In recent times, pictures and video files had propped up on social media to expose the nakedness of our educational system. In certain online pictures, children were seen sitting on bare floor, some sit on blocks, while others avail themselves on any manner of makeshift seats, just to receive learning. In a video, students were seen supposedly writing examinations under a leaked roof during downpour. If you ask to know the ownership of the schools where all these anomalies were found, you would find out that those ramshackle institutions belong to the government.                   In a public school where class size is 120 to 150 students, one would see students’ writing desks placed in several rows from wall to wall with no space for movement. Some of the desks would scatter carelessly on the verandah outside the classroom. Students sit jam-packed inside the classroom while others...

In the spirit of 2019 Teachers Day celebration, Prof. Antiabong Ekong,  the current Dean of Faculty of Education in the University of Uyo, who is also a former Commissioner for Education in Akwa Ibom State, bares his mind on the state of education in the Akwa Ibom State. In this interview with UBONGABASI ISE, the seasoned educationist speaks on wrongful conception of free education programme. He condemns the proliferation of illegal private schools and lauded the state government for clamping down on unapproved private schools in the state, while calling on the total review of the state's educational policy and the need to expose Akwa Ibom children to vocationally-oriented school curriculum in order to solve unemployment question, Excerpt : Nigerian teachers are celebrating Teachers' Day, what do you they really have to celebrate, sir? When  you talk about celebration, they have something to celebrate. If nothing, they celebrate the profession; you tell people that you are st...

By UbongAbasi Ise The crisis that has been rocking Qua Iboe Church, 112 Ikot Ekpene Road, yesterday took a worrying dimension as pupils of the Nursery/Primary School located within the church premise could not attend school. Armed Police tightly secured the premises which were under lock and key making it impossible for anyone to have access to the premises. The church premises was sealed off yesterday by the men of the Nigerian Police Force following the rowdy church service on Sunday after the Church secretary, Elder Sylvester Edem, announced the decision of the committee to remain as the mainstream Qua Iboe Church founded in 1887. In the wake of the closure of the church premises, The Sensor learnt that Rev. Ndueso Ekwere, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN; Rev. Daniel Akwatang, Special Adviser to the State Governor on Religious Matters; Elder Imoh Okon, Uyo local government council chairman; and the Church Committee Chairman, Elder Onofiok Etan...

By UbongAbasi Ise “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” – Martin Luther King Jr. Nigeria still remains a country that offer a compendious description of uncivilized, adulterated democracy of a typical Third World country where myriads of malpractices and despicable modus operandi endure. With crass looting of commonwealth taking the place of dividends of democracy, and with all organs of government serving as hubs of corrupt practices, one find it difficult to identify a more qualified arm of government that could be trusted in leading a blithering warfare against corruption.While the executive arm is heavily intoxicated with power and become highly manipulative in pursuit of its narrow interest with no recourse to rule of law, the legislature is there ‘padding’ the budget; while the judiciary’s notoriety in bribery is becoming increasingly popular. This demonstrates that Nigeria is desperately in a fix of three arms of corruption running from executive to leg...

Dr. Chris Akpan is the Director General of Godswill Akpabio Campaign Organization, GACO. He once served under Victor Attah-led state government as the Commissioner for Rural Development and he was later appointed into the committee on Airport Project by Godswill Akpabio’s administration. In this interview with The Sensor correspondent, UBONGABASI ISE, he reveals how one of the three members of the national assembly election petition tribunal, Justice Sherrif Hafizu, disagreed with his two other colleagues and rejected mouthwatering kickback offered by the Akwa Ibom State Government to influence the judgment against Senator Godswill Akpabio in his petition challenging the declaration of Senator Chris Ekpenyong as winner of February 23 senatorial election. Dr. Akpan hinted that Justice Hafizu might expose the underhand practices surrounding the majority judgment of the tribunal. He lauded Hafizu for his courageous, dissenting judgment and called on Akpabio’s supporters not to panic bec...

By UbongAbasi Ise Following the dismissal of the  petition brought before the national assembly election tribunal sitting in Uyo by Mr. Emmanuel Ekon challenging the victory of Elder AniekanUmanah in Abak/EtimEkpo/Ika federal constituency election, the former counci chairman of EtimEkpo local government area, Mr. Uduot Jack, says the prayers of the former two-termed lawmaker would fail again should he approach the appellate court. Interacting with newsmen shortly after the ruling on Wednesday in Uyo, Mr. Uduok Jack said Emmanuel Ekon who contested under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, lacked witnesses to prove his case at the tribunal, believing that if he chose to go to the Appeal Court for redress, his case would still fail. "This judgment is all about evidence. What evidence does he have to present before the Appeal Court? He lacked evidence to provide at the tribunal here and he fails. He is going to fail again. I know going to Appeal Court is c...

By UbongAbasi Ise Wednesday night was a moment of mix-feelings for the camps of Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senator Chris Ekpenyong following the rulings of the national assembly election petitions sitting in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. The respondents to the petition, including their supporters, were thrown  into excitement as the majority decision of the panel read by Justice W. O. Akanbi upheld the election of Senator Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP, though the minority judgment by Justice Sherrif Hafizu was apparently giving them something to worry about. On the other hand, the mood of Senator Akpabio's supporters was enlivened by Justice Hafizu  split decision as he pointed to numbers of evidences to declare that the petitioner merits the victory of the February 23 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom Northwest District. Interacting with newsmen shortly after the rulings, the petitioner's counsel, Adekunle Oyesanya, SAN, said t...