The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has directed the suspension of the Mandate Secretary for Education, Danlami Hayyo, following the circular issued for the closure of all public schools in the territory.
In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the Acting Head of Service, Nancy Nathan, has also been mandated to discipline the Director, School Services, Aishatu Alhassan, who issued the circular, in accordance with the civil service rules.
“The Acting Head of Service, Mrs Nancy Nathan, has also been mandated to discipline the Director, School Services, Mrs Aishatu Sani Alhassan, in accordance with the civil service rules,” he said.
He described the report on the early closure of schools as false and misleading.
The administration urged parents, students, and school authorities to dismiss the rumour, stressing that the approved academic calendar remained unchanged.
The FCTA also assured residents of the FCT, especially students, of adequate security, adding that the Minister has directed the resumption of Operation Sweep and other security initiatives in the federal capital.
Earlier in a memo on Tuesday, Mrs Alhassan said the administration had ordered all public schools in the FCT to shut down on or before Friday, 28 November, citing security concerns.
According to the memo, principals and heads of schools were instructed to immediately end all academic activities and ensure that students are dismissed in an orderly and safe manner.
It also ordered schools to notify learners, staff and parents; adjust all scheduled academic activities; and prepare to resume on the next official school day unless new directives were issued.
The memo may have been prompted by the resurgence of the abduction of pupils and students by terrorists in the last two weeks.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that terrorists, armed with sophisticated weapons, stormed Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, on motorcycles, abducted 25 schoolgirls from their dormitory, killed the school’s vice principal, and injured a local security guard, Ali Maga.
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The students were freed on Tuesday.
Last Friday, armed men invaded the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, and abducted 303 pupils, students, and staff members.
Fifty of the abductees have escaped from their captors, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
