It was a scene of anguish at the Governor’s Office in Akure on Friday as scores of applicants in the recently concluded teachers’ recruitment exercise in Ondo State poured out heartbreaking stories of how they were duped by officials of the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
The victims said they had staked their savings, sold valuables and even resigned from paid jobs after being promised teaching slots, only to discover that the appointment letters given to them were fake.
Their hopes were finally dashed when their names were missing from the ongoing biometric capturing for new teachers.
A 35-year-old mother of three, Mrs. Opeyemi from Ifon in Ose Local Government, sobbed as she narrated how her husband sold farm produce to raise ₦450,000 for a SUBEB slot, with another ₦50,000 for redeployment. “Now we have nothing to fall back on,” she lamented.
Mrs. Alaba from Igbara-Oke told reporters that her husband sold the family’s only car for ₦1.2 million to buy a space for her in the recruitment.
“We believed a state job would secure our future,” she said, adding that she had quit her job at a private school in Alagbaka, a move she now regrets.
In yet another case, Miss Folashade reportedly fainted after learning that her appointment letter was fake.
Her father explained that he sold a plot of land in Lagos for ₦1.5 million to pay for her slot, and she had left her teaching position in Lagos in anticipation of a steady government salary.
For many of the protesters, Friday’s gathering was their last hope.
They appealed passionately to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to recover their money and bring those behind the scam to book.
