Residents Of Housing Estate Fegge, Onitsha Sends SOS To Anambra State Government Over Ugborimiri Primary School
Residents Of Housing Estate Fegge Onitsha have cried out to Anambra State Government To Take Over the Ugborimiri Primary School and make the field accessible to public for peace to reign.
Residents of Fegge Housing Estate in a peaceful protest bearing placards with various inscriptions which captured their grievances like “Ugborimiri Primary School is a Public School not a mission school” “Prof.Charles C.Soludo Please Don’t Allow This Error to Continue in this your tenure” “Ugborimiri Primary School Field remains the only field for sports and exercise for housing communities and its environs” among others went round major streets within the community.
Addressing newsman, some stakeholders in the housing estate who have lived for more than thirty years in the community including Chief Stanley Ibom, Mr.Nnaemeka Chine, Hon.Dennis Samuel recounted the history of Ugborimiri Primary School which was established by the government of Jim Nwobodo between 1975 and 1979 as the development of Bridge head Housing Estate was going, and the school premises was used by different churches and the community as place of their religious and social activities until recently when the Roman Catholic church, laid claim to the school and locked up the premises.
Other residents, Sir Sam.C.Okafor, Chief Timothy Ikezuagu and Dr.Chioma Onwuasoigwe, expressed sadness that during the handover of schools owned by mission during Peter Obi Administration, the committee apparently jettisoned the idea of inviting the general public to assist it with information that could have assisted the committee to separate public schools from mission schools, pointing out that the committee resorted to the Eastern Nigeria Directory of Schools published in 1964 seen as the cheapest route owing to inability of missions to back up their claims with relevant documents.
They stated that the past two administrations in the state deployed executive orders to satisfy the aspirations of the missions without anyone standing for the interest of the general public with reference to public schools.
They further said that various court injunctions have been issued in relation to the said church to stop work within the premises which was jettisoned, instead more structures are being put in place.
A coach in the estate, Mr.Charles Osondu, recalled that the Ugborimiri Primary School field used to a place where residents have their training and sporting activities for over thirty years before it was locked up by Catholic church after laying claim to its ownership thereby depriving the community use of the premises and as well making the school unreachable for the less privileged ones while another sport enthusiast, Rapuluchukwu Chukwuneke, said presently, under 13 and 15 football players are supposed to be training on the Ugborimiri Primary School Field but they couldn’t.
They all asked the state government to recover the school and the field and open it for public use to avoid the matter escalating.
Addressing the protesters, Archbishop Mike Chukwudum, in charge of Rock Fire Global Mission also a resident of Housing Estate Fegge Onitsha, and the spiritual father of the community recounted the history of Ugborimiri Primary School having lived there since 1972, said he personally wrote to the government with his office as an advocate of peace for the school to be retained as public school because it serves the public and the only recreational place for them all to no avail.
Archbishop Chukwudum enjoined the residents to remain calm and prayerful as they will use all necessary avenue to reclaim the school.
