School children in Cross River State on Thursday lamented the State government’s failure to organise Children’s Day celebration in the State.
The children were frustrated as there was no Children Day celebration in Calabar, Cross River State to mark the children’s Day.
Our correspondent who was at the U. J. Esuene’s stadium, venue of the celebration observed that thousands of school children from various schools across the state were at the stadium.
The students, some of whom were with their school uniform, came in from Akpabuyo Local Government Area, Calabar South, Calabar Municipal, Odukpani Local Government Area, Akamkpa, Biase and other local government areas of the State were seen roaming the stadium.
Our findings further revealed that no government officials were at the stadium to receive the children as most of them entered some security areas and were driven out by stadium security officials and other staffers working in the stadium.
It took officials of the stadium several hours to have sent the children out of the stadium as most of them became aggressive and hostile, noting that their day was not celebrated in the State
Several efforts to speak with the commissioner for education, Dr Godwin Amanke Ebunshua proved abortive as he was not taking his calls neither did he respond to text messages forwarded to him.
Some of the parents who brought their children to the stadium regretted the action of the state government, noting that they have never witnessed such a situation and blamed it on the movement of Governor Ayade to APC.
But the Commissioner for Information, Asu Okang lamented the inability of the state ministry of education, “Well, I am not currently in Calabar. I am in Abuja, may be you will direct your question to the Commissioner for Education or Commissioner for Women Affairs. T hey are the people responsible for such engagement.
When he was told that some students came in from other local governments such as Akpabuyo, Akamkpa…etc, Okang said he was surprised and shocked that there was no government officials to receive them.
“It would be an act of falsehood for me to sit down here and tell you that if Children’s Day is not holding in Calabar, I will be happy.
“These are veritable ingredients that hold us to what we have become today, the only day set out for children, 27 May out of 365 days to celebrate the African child.
“This is for me one day that is very remarkable. We all participated in it when we were young amd we have no reason as a government to deny our children of this.
“However, we also understand the political temperature in the state, a lot is going on and some of these indices may generally play out.
“The last few days, we have concentrated ourselves on politics and politics. I do not expect that, it will continue in the coming days because we still have two years as an administration.
“But it is expected that within the last five days, one week since the governor defected to the All Progressives Congress, we have concentrated ourselves into politics.
“It may not be unconnected with the fact that budgetary provision perhaps, proposals that were made by these ministries may not have been approved by the governor, the governor may not have had time to look at some of those proposals.
”As always the case, there would be memos for the governor to have a look. He may not have looked at the memos in the last days, especially with the uprising.
“I am not holding briefs but I think this inadequacy, perhaps may have given room for what we have seen today. The ministries involved may not have discussed these memo with the governor.
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