TheCable

Namadi Sambo, former vice-president, says he never held any discussion with Ghali Umar Na’abba, ex-speaker of the house of representatives, over the “decline” in the nations education sector.

There were reports that Sambo and Na’abba commented on the state of education in the country.

“I told Jonathan’s vice president about the state of education in Nigeria and I thought he would do something about it. But all he told me was ‘may God heal the situation’. The state of education in two-third of the country is abysmal,” Na’abba is quoted to have said during an event hosted by the house of assembly recently in Lagos.

But in a statement signed by Umar Sani, media aide of the former number two citizen, Sambo said the remarks credited to him and Na’abba are false.

According to him, he decided to respond since the former speaker had not refuted the claims which was widely circulated on social media.

“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the records straight it is necessary to state that no such discussion took place between the former VP and the former speaker. The publication must have been motivated by desperation and a dubious desire to salvage a diminished public status,” the statement read.

“The former VP does not use such unbecoming language, especially as someone who has played a pivotal role in uplifting our education infrastructure across the country.

“It is therefore misleading and a mischievous and malicious machination to suggest that the former VP had any such discussion with the former speaker where he made such unfounded statement.

“Accordingly it is necessary to draw the attention of unsuspecting members of the public to this falsehood which is nothing but a figment of the imagination of its author that should be discountenanced.”

Sambo also listed some of the “achievements” in the education sector under the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

“As the chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) he ensured that there was heavy investment in the education sector,” the statement read.

“After the formulation of the National Policy on education, the former VP set up a committee headed by the then Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) now Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ), to tour all tertiary institutions across the country, review the state of infrastructure and make recommendations for ending the infrastructural deficits and decay and ensuring restoration of normalcy in the sector.

“A holistic report was presented at NEC and adequate steps were taken towards effective implementation.”