SUVs Or School Seats? Akwa Ibom Faces Hard Questions Over Spending Priorities
A Viral Video and an Uncomfortable Reality
A viral video from Primary School, Ibiaku Itam in Ikot Mbonde Community, Itu Local Government Area has ignited fresh debate about public education in Akwa Ibom State.
The footage shows pupils crammed onto four dual desks meant for two children each, while others psit or lie on a cracked floor to write. Their teacher, without a table, balances on a stool. The roof sags, windows are broken, and the building appears neglected.
What shocked many observers was not just the state of the classroom, but its location — within the Uyo capital city, not in a remote rural outpost.
Model Schools, Many Left Behind
Akwa Ibom has 1,164 public primary schools, according to the 2022 approved budget. The administration of Governor Umo Eno is constructing 31 model primary schools — one per local government area. While these projects signal progress, they represent only a fraction of the system. Removing the 31 model schools leaves 1,133 others, many reportedly struggling with broken infrastructure and inadequate seating.
Budget documents reveal repeated allocations for desks and chairs between 2023 and 2025. Yet Budget Performance Reports for January to September of both 2023 and 2024 show no recorded expenditure on these items. Data for the last quarters of those years and for 2025 have not been made public.
When contacted, Education Commissioner Ubong Umoh said the ministry would provide feedback but had not done so as of press time. The Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Anietie Etuk, dismissed the viral footage as “Facebook content creation,” though he promised detailed data that was yet to be supplied.
The Billion-Naira Question
The controversy deepened after the 2025 budget revealed the donation of 10 SUVs, each costing ₦100 million, to former deputy governors and political figures, amounting to ₦1 billion. Beneficiaries included former deputy governors such as Chris Ekpenyong and Nsima Ekere.
At the state’s procurement rate of ₦40,000 per table and chair, ₦1 billion could procure at least 25,000 seats — potentially transforming learning conditions across dozens of schools. Instead, pupils at Ibiaku Itam remain seated on bare floors.
Experts: “It Is Inhuman”
Idongesit Archibong, a professor at the University of Uyo, described the situation as detrimental to effective learning. He stressed that discomfort undermines concentration and participation, particularly at the primary level where demonstration methods are key.
Civil society advocate Akanimo Sampson of Rebuilders Foundation added that sitting on floors damages children’s self-worth and motivation.
For many citizens, the debate now centres not on whether resources exist, but on how they are prioritised.
