The Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano has won the Most Primary Education Friendly Governor of the Year, 2015 award. Governor Obiano outshone other governors in the federation to clinch the award which was conferred on him recently by the Association of Primary School Head Teachers of Nigeria (AOPSHON).
Bestowing the award on Governor Obiano at the National Annual Workshop and Award Ceremony in Oshogbo, Osun State, the National President of AOPSHON, Mahmud Lawal revealed that the choice of Obiano was unanimous because of his tremendous support to foundational education and his special love for teachers culminating in the regular payment of salaries as well as salary increment and other incentives to teaches in a time of recession.
Lawal also praised Obiano for recognizing education as the bedrock of development and investing heavily in it to ensure that Anambra State continues to retain its top spot in national examinations. The National President of the association further observed that the Anambra model which Obiano had perfected to a roaring success should be emulated by other states to uplift the nation’s educational sector.
The event which attracted all Primary School Head Teachers across Nigeria also honoured the governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola.
It would be recalled that recently, the Registrar of the National Examinations Council, Prof. Abdulrashid Garba had also showered praises on Governor Obiano for the excellent performance of Anambra State in all external examinations in the past three years.
Since he assumed office as the governor of Anambra State in March 2014, Governor Obiano has shown a remarkable interest in education, offering scholarships worth over N30 million to students in different levels of education and sponsoring 23 teachers to a special training in Singapore.
Obiano has also been roundly applauded for increasing teachers’ salaries in the midst of recession, offering incentives to teachers who are willing to teach in hard-to-reach areas and launching speedboats to help students living in riverine areas to gain access to schools on the mainland.
The governor has demonstrated a resolve to set up Anambra as a model in education, renovating a total of 862 units of 10-classroom blocks across 21 local government areas and disbursing the sum of N733 million to mission schools. Over 200 students have so far been given scholarships, including the children of some victims of Boko Haram, by Obiano’s 19-month administration.
