The Cross River State House of Assembly (CRHA) Committee on Education, led by Martins Achadu, has opposed the factionalisation of the Cross River State branch of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in the state.
The committee made the remarks during NAPPS stakeholders’ engagement with Cross River State House of Assembly Committee on Education which took place at the mini auditorium of the state House of Assembly Complex, Càlabar yesterday.
Achadu stated that the committee’s priority is to ensure that no child due for WAEC is deprived of the opportunity to sit for the examination because of crises in the Proprietors of Private Schools Association.
The committee asked the state Ministry of Education to allow proprietors of private schools to go ahead with registration of students due for WAEC without necessarily obtaining clearance from any of the NAPPS factions before being allowed to register their students.
The lawmakers stated that arrangements are in top gear to convene another stakeholder meeting in two weeks’ time to brainstorm with members of the association and ensure that all the factions are merged together as one indivisible entity.
“To the permanent secretary, in the meantime do please liase with the Ministry of Education and ensure that any private school coming to register for WAEC, allow them to register, because as it stands now , we are taking both factions of the association to surgical room. They are undergoing proper surgery.
“Please allow everyone who come to you for WAEC registration. Disregard this issue of NAPPS registration fee for now so that we don’t hurt ourselves because of NAPPS registration fee receipt and clearance,’’ he said.
Also speaking, House of Assembly committee on Education member and member representing Ikom one state constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Samuel Neji-Abang, called for calm and urged the warring factions to sheath their swords pending the outcome of the committee ‘s final report.
In his remarks, the factional president of NAAPS in the state, Sir Godwin Okwu, chastised the immediate past Exco of the association for leading the association as if it were their private estate that isn’t accountable to members of the association.
Okwu urged the state ministry of education not to allow any of the factions of NAPPS to collect levies from proprietors of schools on the ministry ‘s behalf but advised the ministry to directly collect levies meant for the government by themselves during registration of students in the 2025 West African Examination Council WAEC.
“We had a leadership that spent whole nine years on the saddle with no statement of account despite levy collection and refusing to be accountable to members.
“The ministry might not know what we are passing through. We are not troublesome. We want to work with the ministry. If there is any information on what we should do give it to us we will do to enable us work with the ministry and not these faction.
But the other factional leader of NAPPS in the state, Pastor Abraham Osok, who reacted to the issue in a telephone conversation, stated that even though he has chosen to reserve his comment on certain issues, he remains in charge as NAPPS president in the state.
