Gele-Gele Community Laments lack of Basic Amenities, Calls For Govt. Attention

Gele-Gele Community Laments lack of Basic Amenities, Calls For Govt. Attention 

Iduozee Efe Paul, Benin 

Indigenes and residents in Gele-Gele Community in Ovia North East local government of Edo state have lamented lack of basic amenities in their locality, and therefore called for government attention.

Speaking to newsmen about the bad conditions in the community, Chief Macurley Ayuwe Amaokosuwei-Gboluwei, said they don't have teachers both in their primary and secondary schools in the community.

Chief Macurley Ayuwe Amaokosuwei-Gboluwei, asserted that Gele-Gele as an oil producing community in Edo state supposed not to lack any good thing and appealed to the state government to come to their aid.

He said," when you pass our road, you will not be able to access it because of the bad conditions of the road. If it rains you cannot pass our road. We are going through suffering because of bad roads.

" Don't forget that this is one of the oil producing community in Edo state. Gele-Gele is an oil producing community in Edo state. We supposed not to lack social amenities, which we supposed to enjoy in this community.

" The former governor, Obaseki know how bad the road is before he left office. Now we have a new government, APC government it was PDP government before now it is APC government. We are pleading to the present government to give us good infrastructures."

Chief Macurley Ayuwe Amaokosuwei-Gboluwei, also complained about encroachment and lack of teachers in the school situated in Gele-Gele Community.

He groaned," we have two schools here, both the primary and secondary schools, no one is fenced round. There are a lot of time people do encroach the school land, which gives us serious concern.

" If these schools are fence round, it would help the community, the government and the teachers that are teaching in the school. This school as you see it, the building is dilapidated. The building is bad, it needs maintenance.

" There are no chairs in the school, government needs to provide chairs for the students to learn. We don't have enough teachers and we need teachers that would cover the whole classroom. Because the school does not have enough teachers, it makes some parents to take their children to Benin city and learn," he added 

Also, the Executive Council Chairman of the Gele-Gele Community, Comrade Omaghomi Olu-Derimon, said the community play host to one of the largest forest reserves in West Africa.

The former secretary Ijaw Youths Western Zone, asserted that the roads, schools and other amenities are neglected by successive governments.

He said the Ijaw people in Gele-Gele Community don't have a representative in the Edo state House of Assembly and request for it.

He appealed to Senator Monday Okpevbolo, the governor of Edo state to look at the plight that is ravaging the Gele-Gele Community and proffer solutions to it. He said the state government should open a political space for Ijaw people.

During the assessment to Ikpoiti Grammar school, one of the community teacher who spoke to newsmen, Mr. Milton Reuben, said the building of the school is very bad. He stressed that the window, celling, doors and chairs in the school are dilapidated, and called for government attention.

Milton Reuben, explained that the inadequate teachers in the school is not enough to teach the students. He said what they now do is to use community teachers to teach the students.

He disclosed that, parents in the community contribute money to pay teachers to teach their children and stressed that the environment of the school is not encouraging and begged the Edo state government to come to their aid.

For James Apohi, the Secretary Gele-Gele Community, Education Committee Taskforce, said, the educational system, structure and infrastructures is lacking in their community.

Apohi added that, their educational facilities is nothing to show for and they need a better modern educational amenities from governments. He said they don't have functional library, desk, chairs and laboratory for students to learn.

In an interview with the some of the students, Gbale Lucky and Iyiola Ifesowapo Abiodun, both in Senior Secondary School Two, Ikpoiti Grammar school, in Gele-Gele Community, appealed to Edo State government to post more teachers to their school.

They said in their school there is no laboratory and lack lab materials as a science students. " In this school, we lack lab. There's no laboratory. No materials in the lab and we don't have library. That is what we want the government to do for us. We are science students and we want to focus on science courses."

" No one is helping us, we are begging the government to come to our rescue. In this school, we are lacking many things. We don't have teachers. We are studying science courses. 

"We don't have chemistry, Physics and Financial Accounting teachers. The environment is not conducive for learning. No chairs and desks, some of the students are sitting on the floor and windows to learn. Sometimes, we don't learn anything," they lamented.