Obi's N10 Million Infrastructure Upgrade Fund Tears PTA, School Apart At Obosi

There is tension now at Community Secondary School, Awada ,Obosi, Anambra State between the management of the school and the Parents/Teachers Association (PTA) over the spending of N10million given to the school by Governor Peter Obi for rehabilitation of their structures.

PTA of the school under the chairmanship of Chief Anthony Ezebube accused the school Principal, Mrs Felicia Ogbunude of spending the money unilaterally without consultations with the PTA leadership despite being major stakeholder in the fund released to the school.

Ezebube accused the school Principal of mandating new students to bring each a white plastic seat as criteria for admission which she could not account for.

He alleged that contrary to an agreement that general meetings of the body and the school management would be held two times a term at the instance of the Principal and emergency meetings when the need arose, none was done throughout 2013 to know the state of affairs in the school.

"I was told that money was given by Governor Obi but I was not told how the money was lodged to a bank. And I also heard that she said that the money did not concern the PTA. We need an account of how the money is being spent," Chief Ezebube said during a meeting between the school management and the PTA at the weekend to put records straight at the school hall.

The PTA members insisted that whoever that would take up the contract of repair job at the school would be co-approved by the PTA and the school authorities.

One of the founding fathers of the school, Sir Osita Nzewi argued that since Governor Obi had demanded that stakeholders should oversee the projects for which money was released, the school management alone should not know about the spending of the N10million or whatever money given to the school. Sir Nzewi called for accountability.

Following a petition to Governor Obi against the school Principal on the subject matter which was copied to the United Action Against Corruption and Justice International, zonal coordinator of the body, Anyim Sunday Sunday Anyim said the human right group would go into full scale investigation of the matter if the parties involved failed to handle it properly.

But Mrs Ogbunde at the meeting said she was innocent of all the allegations, explaining that a 7-man committee was set up which membership included the school Principal as chairman, Vice Principal (administration), a representative of Igwe of the community and the PTA chairman while the signatories to the bank account titled project account were the Principal and the Bursar. The Principal said she signed an undertaking with the government staking his pension and gratuity in an event of being found wanting in spending the money judiciously.

She said that the plastic chairs from the students were intact but apologized for her inability to call a meeting of the PTA throughout last year because of the pressure of work.

However, Nation reports that the money is tired to the principal pension and gratuity by the government  and the principal was mandated to set up a committee involving the stakeholders and not to be harangued by PTA rather PTA is to report to the commission if anything is going funny.   

Cap for pic:

Members of the PTA at the  meeting