By  GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

BENIN—Public primary and secondary school teachers in Edo State have initiated contempt proceedings against officials of Edo State Government before the Enugu Division of the National Industrial Court, following an alleged disobedience to an order  by the President of the court, Justice B. Adejumo, restraining the state government from going ahead with the competency test for teachers in the state.

Counsel to Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, the umbrella association of public primary and secondary school teachers in the state, Mr. Olayiwola Afolabi, who initiated the contempt proceedings, said in Benin, yesterday that Form 48, (notice of consequences of disobedience to the order of the court) had been served on the said officials of the state government.

The alleged contemnor include  the chairman of the committee saddled with the conduct of the competency test, Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Edo State, Commissioner for Higher Education and Commissioner for Basic Education,  Head of Service of Edo State, Head of Information Communication Technology Agency, ICTA, Edo State, Permanent Secretary Post Primary Education Board and Mrs. I. J. Iyamu, of Post Primary Education Board.

It will be recalled that the teachers approached the NIC, challenging the competency test, which also restrained the state government from going ahead with the test.

The court had also ordered that the status quo ante be maintained pending the hearing and determination of the suit by the teachers, while the case was assigned to Justice Auwal Irahim of the Enugu Division, but the state government allegedly went ahead with the test.