Gov. Idris Wada of Kogi on Wednesday ordered the Kogi State Teaching Service Commission to immediately refund the N50 million illegally collected from job applicants.
This is contained in a statement by Mr Yabagi Bologi, the Commissioner for Information, in Lokoja.
Wada, who directed the commission to comply with the order without delay, said government would fund the administrative cost of recruiting 500 new teachers in the state.
“The governor in his humane disposition has decided that government will fund all administrative processes involved in the recruitment of education officers in the state,’’ the statement said.
He said the decision followed public outcry that greeted the collection of N3, 000 from each of the over 16, 000 job seekers that applied for the 500 teaching positions in the commission.
The commission had argued that the money was meant to offset the cost of conducting a written examination for the applicants by NECO and administrative charges
The statement assured the applicants and the people of the state that fairness and equity would be ensured in the recruitment exercise.
