By Chioma Onuegbu
Uyo —CHAIRMAN of Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, Akwa Ibom State, Etim Ukpong, has advocated  a president who is competent and above board as Nigerians prepare to elect their leaders in the forthcoming general election.

Ukpong,  while fielding questions from newsmen on the 2018 World Teacher Day celebration in Uyo, said that only a president with such leadership qualities would be able to govern and solve the problems of the country.

Gowon, OBJ, Shagari, IBB, Shonekan, Abdulsalami, Jonathan and Buhari

He said:  “Nigeria is a big country, so anybody who should lead a country like Nigeria should be above board. He should have integrity and the ability to lead. Such a person must not attach importance to a section of the country, and to his immediate family. The president should be a  person who is a Nigerian in and out; somebody who understands the problems of every sector of the economy.

“A Nigerian president should be somebody who wants to develop every part of the society. Teachers are at the centre of the development of the society. There was a time education was at the fore front of the attention of Nigeria’s government and  the only instrument for the measurement of the progress of our society.”

“But there was a time too that all that collapsed, and education was no longer the priority of government, the teachers were  pushed to the background, salaries were owed for months and nobody was talking about building infrastructure and equipping laboratories in schools.

“And it was not the fault of the teachers, it was as a result of the quality of leadership that we had, and the response of Nigerian society to that quality of leadership. But let me say in recent days that there have been deliberate effort by some state governments  across Nigeria to bring back the social prestige of teachers, Akwa Ibom is an example and we are grateful.”

On the recent strike by organised labour in the country,  Ukpong who doubles as the Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Akwa Ibom State chapter, said though the N65,000, 00 minimum wage being proposed by labour may not be feasible but it could be negotiated.

“When you take a survey of the states that make up Nigeria in relation to the implementation of the N18,000,00 minimum wage, you could say it is not realistic but I think it is good to try.

“Yes many states up to today have not implemented the N18,000 minimum wage  at all especially when it comes to teachers. In some states, workers are collecting on negotiated percentage. But what the organised labour is saying is that it is a matter for negotiation,” he added.