BY GABRIEL  ENOGHOLASE
BENIN— EDO State chap-ter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has challenged the directive by the state government asking no fewer than 1,300 primary school teachers in the state to appear for certificate  verification, insisting that the exercise should be extended to the political class, government ministries and parastatals in the state.

It will be recalled that at a meeting held with the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and  Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, on Tuesday, Governor Adams Oshiomhole directed the 1,300 primary school teachers in the state to appear before a verification committee to defend themselves over issues bordering on irregularities in their education certificates and age records.

Edo PDP  in a statement  by its state Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, insisted that the certificate audit was “discriminatory, and a witch-hunting of the primary school teachers for demanding the implementation of the Teachers Salary Scale, TSA.

“The certificate audit, to gain general acceptability and credibility, must involve all functionaries of the Edo State Government beginning from the staff of the Government House, chief of which is Governor Oshiomhole himself, through the ministries and down to the parastatals.

“Our party also suggests that an independent body of university dons be empanelled to screen these certificates as only an educated body like that will be able to tell of the authenticity or otherwise of such document.”