The Katsina State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has thrown its weight behind the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Dr. Dikko Radda.
Specifically, the support was shown by over 5,000 teachers in public primary and secondary schools, as well as administrators in the sector across the 34 councils of the state.
The NUT, which gave its support at a rally organised at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, said it was supporting Radda to ensure continuity in achievements recorded under Governor Aminu Masari’s administration.
Also, Commissioner for Education, Prof. Badamasi Charanchi, who spoke at the event, said Dikko is a well-trained classroom teacher, whose experience would bring positive change to the sector if he becomes governor.
Charanchi said Masari had prioritised education in the last seven years, and that billions had been expended to provide infrastructure, welfare of teachers and students, recruitment, among others.
He said: “As teachers, we have a fate to decide who among the contestants will continue from where the state governor stopped.
“We found out that we have the right candidate in APC, who is also an educationist, and we felt we are duty-bound to ensure continuity and succession in education, as well as ensure that teachers are motivated to move the sector to greater heights.
“We are not involved in partisan politics but we have the constitutional right to free association and to determine who is best fitted to govern the state and promote the interest of teachers and the educational sector.”
The commissioner said the teachers that have thrown their support behind the gubernatorial candidate include 2,800 head-teachers, 600 secondary school principals and 160 community secondary school teachers.
Others are more than 500 administrators drawn from the state ministry of education, as well as scores of officials from the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in the 17 zonal Quality Assurance Offices.
On his part, the gubernatorial candidate assured the teachers that he would build on Masari’s legacies by coming up with education-friendly polices and
programmes if he becomes governor.
He, however, said the teachers should not feel they were being compelled by people in government to support him, even as he called on them support him due to his experience and knowledge of problems facing the education sector.
