Ohanaeze frowns at discriminatory cut-off marks into federal schools

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has slammed the Nigerian government for continuing the bad practice of discriminatory cut-off points into federal government-owned schools in Nigeria.

In a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Uche Achi-Okpaga, the group alleged that under the guise of educationally disadvantaged areas, some states were unduly favoured with very low cut off marks, while others had unacceptably high cut off points.

The statement said: “For instance, whereas Abia State has 65 points for male and female, some states in the North have as low as 7 points for female and 10 points for male. This cannot continue. And funny enough, when products of this unjust system graduate, the same so-called educationally disadvantaged specie will get jobs and preferential treatment before his ‘advantage” colleague.

“This is robbing Peter to pay Paul. This is the highest degree of in-built terror against some people in Nigeria and it must stop. It has got to stop. This favoritism must stop if we want to continue as one nation.”

Ohanaeze Ndigbo also condemned the re-instatement and promotion of Ibrahim Othman, one of those earlier linked with the APO six killing in 2006.

“Othman was recently re-instated and is now an Assistant Inspector General of Police. This is a great insult to the sensibility of the victims and dependants of the deceased traders.

“There is no part of the world where this kind of callousness can happen and we call on the IG of Police and the Federal Government to reconsider the shameful act.

“We also call for investigation into the ownership of oil blocs in Nigeria to ensure it meets geographical spread. The DPR and NNPC should publish the ownership structure of oil blocs in Nigeria,” he said.