By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
The Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR) has called on the Kogi State Government to urgently recruit more teachers, rehabilitate dilapidated schools and overhaul the state’s transportation system to ease the growing burden on students, workers and other residents.
The group said the worsening cost of transportation was making access to education increasingly difficult for families already struggling with the rising cost of living.
The Executive Director of CHRCR, Idris Miliki Abdul, made the call in a statement on Monday to mark the 2026 World Teachers’ Day, stressing that teachers remained the foundation of every profession and the wider society.
Abdul noted that doctors, lawyers, engineers, judges, governors, presidents and other professionals all passed through the hands of teachers, describing educators as “great people” whose welfare and working conditions deserved urgent government attention.
He urged Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s administration to embark on massive recruitment of teachers, particularly for basic education, to address shortages and improve learning outcomes across the state.
The rights activist also demanded the immediate overhaul of Kogi’s transportation sector and the provision of affordable public transport across the state’s 21 local government areas.
According to him, the rising cost of fuel has significantly increased transportation fares, placing additional pressure on parents, students, workers and other residents.
Abdul said the government should also urgently rehabilitate schools across the state, many of which, he alleged, were in poor condition and lacked the infrastructure required for effective teaching and learning.
He called on the Ododo administration to declare a state of emergency in the transportation sector and take advantage of Federal Government interventions and successful transport initiatives implemented by other states.
Abdul questioned the effectiveness of the state Ministry of Transportation, arguing that government could not continue to leave the movement of citizens almost entirely in the hands of private operators while transportation costs continued to rise.
“The transportation sector has been left in the hands of the private sector. We wonder what the Ministry of Transportation is doing to alleviate the suffering of the citizens,” the statement said.
He further alleged that the state government had failed to substantially improve public transportation over the past decade, lamenting the collapse of the inherited state-owned transport company, Kogi Travelers, and the displacement of its workers.
The CHRCR boss said reviving an efficient public transport system would help reduce the financial burden on students, workers and other residents while making movement across the state more affordable.
He commended teachers for their sacrifices and contributions to nation-building, urging the government to back its appreciation of educators with better welfare, improved working conditions and stronger professional support.
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