Wike can’t achieve anything useful as Education Minister – Group calls for his removal

The suspected intention of the presidency to upgrade the minister of state for education, Nyesom Wike to succeed former minister of education Professor, Ruqquayyatu Rufai has been regarded  by a human rights group, Education Rights Campaign (ERC) as an attempt by the Federal Government to put a square peg in a round hole.

According to the leader of the rights group, Hassan Soweto, the appointment of Wike will not in any way contribute toward reorganizing or proffering workable solutions to challenges facing the battered education sector in the country.

Soweto said in an interview in Lagos, that the presidency failed to acknowledge that both Rufai and Wike had failed in their respective duties as managers of the poor state of education in the country.

“The government will like us to believe that the sack will attract attention because of their non performance but in the real sense of the situation, if the minister is sacked and minister of state for education Mr. Nyesom Wike is appointed in acting capacity.

“You will see that the change is not about non-performance of the minster both of them should be jointly accused of the mismanagement of the relation of government and ASUU”, he stated.

Hence, he insisted that where the former failed his successor appointed in acting capacity cannot succeed.

“If government is serious in fulfilling the objective cleaning up the sector, both ministers should be asked to leave”, he maintained.

He also pointed out that Wike’s appointment was orchestrated by the Presidency ahead of scheming for 2015 elections as he noted; “the change is not about the need to urgently reposition the ministry, it is about the President’s ambition”.

“The minister of state is an individual who will not succeed where Rufai failed because over the past few months, the minister of state for education virtually abandoned his duty to slug it out with the River State government. If such a person is now appointed to take over from the minister, I don’t think such a person is a reason for us to be happy”, he said.