PRESS RELEASE
T
he attention of the Management of the Teachers Continuous Training Institute (TCTI), Cross River State, has been drawn to a sensationalized report authored by one Patrick Obia of CrossRiverWatch. The publication levels several unsubstantiated and frivolous allegations against the Institute and its leadership.
Since its inception in 2021 under the pioneering leadership of the Director-General, Professor Taoheed Adedoja, the TCTI has maintained the highest standards of professional excellence. Our standing as a premier citadel for teacher training is evidenced by numerous local, national and international accolades.
While a reputable institution would typically not dignify such baseless claims with a response, we owe it a duty to the public and our stakeholders to provide an accurate account of the facts. We hereby state as follows:
1. As a state-owned entity, TCTI operates under strict fiscal oversight. The Institute undergoes routine and rigorous auditing by the Office of the State Auditor-General with a most recent exercise that has not found the institute wanting in financial probity and transparency. Furthermore, monthly subventions are only released to the institute by the Accountant General of the State upon satisfactory submission of comprehensive monthly returns of previous expenditures to ensure fiscal responsibility and accountability.
2. Regarding the unfortunate passing of a participant last month during a 6 month training session for 300 youths, records show that the trainee reported with a pre-existing medical condition. Upon falling ill, the victim was immediately transported to a hospital in Ugep, the nearest specialist facility around the area where he eventually passed away. A TCTI delegation visited the bereaved family shortly thereafter. The allegation that the participant “slumped and died due to neglect” is entirely false and a malicious fabrication.
3. Records show that since 2021, staff members who resigned from TCTI to pursue other career opportunities have been officially removed from the payroll. Contrary to the writer’s allegations, the two (2) staff members on political secondment are maintained only on the nominal roll to keep their staff records, and not on the payroll of the institute as mischievously reported.
4. The Director-Generalโs official travels are essential for securing national visibility, partnerships and grants. These efforts have yielded significant results, such as the ongoing 6 months World Bank IDEAS TVET project, which is currently training 300 Cross State youths in ICT related repairs and maintenance of computers, laptops and Smartphones, more of such efforts are in the pipeline. Given the logistical challenges of travel from Calabar, air travel is the only viable option for time-sensitive missions.
The DG consistently utilizes economy class fares to ensure cost-effectiveness for the Institute.
Publicizing round-trip travel receipts of 180,000 to 200,000 Naira to scrutinize a Director-General of TCTI; a former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is ridiculous and shortsighted. Such actions undermine the DGโs prudence and discourages the spirit of sacrifice.
5. The TCTI Demonstration Primary and Secondary Schools (regarded as the training laboratories for teacher trainees) are self-sustaining entities and do not operate as profit-making arms of the Institute. They function with the full inputs of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) with specific Monitoring functions for transparency and educational quality.
6. The allegation regarding the neglect of a staff member with a disability is demonstrably false. Management specifically allocated a permanent office on the ground floor to ensure accessibility. This arrangement is verifiable and reflects our commitment to an inclusive workplace. In addition, TCTI Biase is one of the few educational institutions in Nigeria that provide accessible facilities for Persons with Disabilities
7. Management acknowledges that there was a brief period of internal agitation earlier this year regarding staff entitlements, the situation has since been fully resolved as confirmed by a recent letter dated March 13, 2026, by the NASU Chairman, Comrade Egwu Inamang Ukam, who commended the Director-General Professor Taohee Adedoja for his “compassionate and dynamic leadership” and for the “timely and consistent disbursement of salaries”. Despite subventions to the institute remaining stagnant since 2022, TCTI still manages to implement the national minimum wage.
8. Since its establishment, the TCTI has successfully retrained and upskilled over 7,000 teachers of various categories.
Management remains focused on its primary mandate of transforming the educational landscape in teacher retraining in Cross River State and will not be distracted by orchestrated attempts by some individuals or groups to run down its earned reputation and international respectability. These unnecessary issues raised and other frivolous allegations aimed solely at tarnishing the integrity of the esteemed institution, should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.
E-Signed:
Ukam Odumusor
Public Relations Officer
TCTI, Biase
01.04.2026
