Nigerian Governor Declares State of Emergency, "Just Like We’ve Done"
- Governor Umo Eno declared a state of emergency in Akwa Ibom's education sector during the 2026 International Teachers' Day celebration in Uyo
- Eno approved the recruitment of 2,000 additional teachers, with applicants required to pass a CBT and oral interview before being considered
- The governor also announced the upgrade of the Akwa Ibom State College of Education to a full university, naming its first Vice-Chancellor
PAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng!
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide
Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State declared a state of emergency in the state's education sector on Monday, October 5, 2026, during the International Teachers' Day celebration held at the Uyo Township Stadium, which the state government designated a work-free day for teachers.
This is the second sector-wide emergency Eno has declared since taking office in May 2023.
Source: Twitter
As reported by Premium Time, Eno's administration issued a similar declaration for the health sector in September 2025.
"Other than the Ministry of Health, where we declared a state of emergency, I hereby declare a total state of emergency in the Akwa Ibom State educational system," Eno said at the event.
2,000 more teachers to be recruited
Eno said his administration had already approved the recruitment of 1,000 teachers earlier and announced a further 2,000 vacancies.
He said the recruitment portal would open soon and that candidates would sit a Computer-Based Test followed by an oral interview.
The governor was clear that a high CBT score alone would not secure a job.
"That you scored 100 per cent in the CBT does not automatically convert to employment. The civil service has its rules."
He added that candidates' conduct and records would also be evaluated.
His remarks came against the backdrop of complaints from unsuccessful applicants in a recent recruitment exercise. Eno said the pool of candidates who qualified for the oral interview stage was narrowed from roughly 12,000 to 4,000.
Schools upgraded, college becomes university
Eno told the gathering that his administration had built and equipped 38 model primary schools, with at least one in each of the state's 31 local government areas.
The schools are solar-powered, ICT-enabled and include teachers' quarters, sick bays, and libraries.
The government also released N15 billion as a matching grant to the State Universal Basic Education Board and has continued to cover examination fees for students writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examinations Council tests.
Eno said the state had registered 172,000 candidates for those exams to date.
In a further announcement, Eno upgraded the Akwa Ibom State College of Education to a university and named Professor Philip Afaha as the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the new Akwa Ibom University of Education.
He directed Deputy Governor Akon Eyakenyi and Commissioner for Education Ubong Umoh to lead a team that will review the entire sector and produce a comprehensive reform document, modelled on what was done for the health sector.
The declaration comes as Akwa Ibom faces scrutiny over student performance in public exams.
The state's ranking in the 2026 NECO examination dropped sharply from 12th in 2025 to 36th nationally, raising questions about how the state's decade-long education roadmap has been implemented.
Eno pledged to digitise the state's education system and hold teachers to account, saying: "To whom much is given, much is expected."
Source: Twitter
Nigerian governor announces cash bonuses for teachers
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom approved N50,000 each for over 25,000 public school teachers to mark World Teachers' Day.
Governor Eno also donated N500,000 to each private school in the state and directed the completion of Teachers' House in Uyo within six months.
The governor announced a pioneer Vice-Chancellor for Akwa Ibom State University of Education as part of the day's declarations.
Source: Legit.ng
