Wike aide says Obi did nothing to uplift education in Anambra
Wike’s aide has hit back at Peter Obi over recent comments about the poor condition of public schools in the FCT, saying that Obi did nothing to uplift the education sector in Anambra State despite being governor there. The response comes after Obi visited a primary school in Kuje and described the state of FCT schools as a “national disgrace.” Wike’s team claims the current FCT administration has undertaken genuine school renovations, while Obi allegedly focused more on appearance than substance in his eight years in office.
According to Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the FCT, there are currently 73 schools being renovated across the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory, with 21 already completed. He says 102 contracts have been awarded under the Wike-led FCTA for school rehabilitation. He challenged Obi to name any school he built during his governorship, claiming Obi provided few new schools and instead focused on refurbishing existing infrastructure.
Obi has defended his record, pointing out that when he took office in Anambra, the public education system was in a dire state, citing closed schools, low rankings in national exams, and dilapidated infrastructure. He says he changed that by improving the quality of schools, supplying boreholes, generators, computers, and improving learning conditions. Obi also claims Anambra rose from near the bottom in educational rankings to among the top under his leadership.
The debate highlights larger tensions in Nigerian governance over how political figures are judged for infrastructure versus service delivery. It also raises questions about what counts as meaningful progress in education—whether building new schools, renovating old ones, improving exam performance, or ensuring access and learning quality.
