Teachers in the riverine areas of Delta State have become the recent casualty of the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration as the high cost of water transportation is eroding their morale in the teaching profession.

This was disclosed by Rev. Oreva Peters, the vice principal of Kokodiagbene Secondary School in Kokodiagbene Community, Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, during a chat with PENGlobal Community on Sunday, July 23, 2023.

Rev. Oreva, who said he was posted to Kokodiagbene Secondary School in 2016, said each passing day, the situation of poor welfare to teachers is deteriorating, adding that the overwhelming increase of fares is not telling too well on teachers stationed in the riverine areas of the state.

"The recent increase in the pump price of fuel is telling badly on teachers. You can see it in their expression; you know when they say 'a hungry man is an angry man'. Imagine a teacher paying N6,500k, N7,500k per trip. We are not just saying just the journey from the waterside alone; some of them come from Sapele; in fact we have a teacher that comes from Asaba, Ughelli. So you can see the accumulation of what they pay before they get to the waterside," he revealed.

Speaking further he said, "In fact, when a teacher is entering Kokodiagbene, they spend a minimum of N25,000k, N30,000k, to and fro. Imagine we buy bag of pure water for N500k. Before now we were spending N2,500k, N3,000k per trip, early this year. But right now, just at the waterside we spend N6,500k. And as at today it’s N7,500k," he lamented.

The visibly angry teacher appealed to the Delta State government led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to come to their rescue, as the current situation he alleges is making teachers to no longer want to be posted to the riverine areas because of the toll the high cost of transportation is impacting on their meagre salary.

"My appeal to the Sheriff Oborevwori government is, look into the plight of the teachers in the riverine, they are suffering. The governor should do something about it. It is from the riverine communities that the government is getting most of their oil revenue; through DESOPADEC’s 13 percent they should make allowance to the teachers," he suggested.

To stakeholders in the community and oil companies, he said, "I know that we are in times of scarcity of funds and all that, but you know, education is key. So, I want to appeal to them to work out a scheme, an allowance. We are not asking for much. This transportation is too much. If they can support us with even N2,000k, N3,000k, it will go a long way to help boost our morale to do the job because we pay so much coming in, we pay so much to feed, and all of that. So, we need help, we need an assistance to the best of their abilities."

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