The Permanent Secretary of Cross River State Ministry of Education, Mrs. Anne Odey, has been suspended by the state government for banning morning devotions in schools.
Mrs. Odey(pictured middle) had directed all private and public primary and secondary schools in the state to stop morning and afternoon devotions following the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Henry Fadairo’s recommendation based on security report that Boko Haram members are plotting to bomb the state.
But her failure to have consulted and got the state government’s approval before issuing out directives to schools banning morning and afternoon devotions, earned her Gov. Ben Ayade’s wrath.
On Friday in Calabar, Mr. Jude Ngaji, State Security Adviser (SSA) to Gov. Ayade, during an interaction with newsmen announced Mrs. Odey’s suspension and the lifting of the ban.
He said: “The governor has directed that the permanent secretary be suspended indefinitely while the ban on suspension of devotion has been lifted immediately.
“It is true that police got intelligence information that Boko Haram is planning to bomb schools during morning devotions and therefore directed authorities in the Ministry of Education to act fast.
“But the permanent secretary did not bother to refer to the governor or call for stakeholders’ meeting to that effect.
“So, the governor feels pained that the permanent secretary got such sensitive information without seeking for his advice and went ahead to issue directive suspending morning devotions in schools.”
