Head mistress allegedly demoted to class room teacher for embarrassing Abia states First Lady

The headmistress of a primary school at Amaetiti Asaga Ohafia, in Ohafia area of Abia State, Mrs. Maryleen Ezichi, has been reportedly demoted to a classroom teacher for allegedly embarrassing the wife of Abia State governor, Nkechi Ikpeazu.

It was gathered that Ezichi has been transferred to the Ukwa-East Local Government Area — about 140 kilometers from her former school — to serve as a deterrent for her ‘impunity and lack of respect for constituted authority’.

The headmistress, it was learnt had, during an interactive session with Ikpeazu’s wife after the inauguration of her free meal programme for primary school pupils in her school, complained that ‘teachers were being owed several months of salary arrears and allowances’.

Ezichi was quoted to have told the governor’s wife that teachers are finding it difficult to meet their financial obligations like the payment of house rents, school fees for their wards, medical bills, transport fares and had pleaded with her to intercede on their behalf.

It was gathered that two days after, the embattled Ezichi was whisked away to Umuahia from the school, where she was handed a letter of deployment and instructed to proceed to the new station immediately.

While defending the headmistress, one of her colleagues, who spoke on condition of anonymity, queried the appropriateness of the government’s action, maintaining that if the government felt embarrassed by her appeal it should do the needful and pay teachers' salaries.

He said, “By the way, of what importance is the meal programme to the pupils in particular and the schools in general? What about other schools in the community? All we are saying is that the government should pay us our entitlements period.”