ABANDONED AFTER THE CAMPAIGN: MBATO COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL IN OHUHU STILL IN RUINS THREE YEARS AFTER PROMISES

Three years after the 2023 general elections, Mbato Community Primary School in Ohuhu, Umuahia North LGA, remains in a deplorable and unsafe condition, despite being one of the key stops during the campaign tour of the member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency, Hon. Obi Aguocha.

Abandoned After the Campaign: Mbato Community Primary School in Ohuhu Still in Ruins Three Years After Promise

Pictures obtained from the school this week show a disturbing picture of neglect.

The school structures are in total decay:

  • Classroom blocks with collapsed ceilings and exposed roofing sheets.
  • Broken floors with large potholes, making learning difficult and dangerous.
  • Windows without shutters, doors hanging loose.
  • Bushes overgrowing the school premises, with reptiles taking over abandoned classrooms.

In one of the images, a single dilapidated wooden desk sits alone in a classroom where tens of pupils are supposed to learn. In another, the entire floor has caved in.

According to community members, the condition of this school has worsened since 2023.

During his 2023 campaign, Hon. Aguocha visited Mbato community and, according to residents, promised to prioritize the renovation of the primary school and improve learning conditions for the children.

Residents say that promise is yet to be fulfilled.

“Since 2023 when he came to campaign here, he promised us heaven and earth for this primary school. Since then, he has not stepped his feet inside that school till now,” a community source lamented.

As at the time of filing this report, there is no visible intervention, constituency project, or renovation effort linked to the federal lawmaker in the school.

The condition of Mbato Community Primary School raises serious questions about effective representation for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency.

Education remains a core area where federal constituency interventions through UBEC, NDDC, and direct constituency projects are expected. Stakeholders argue that if a school in a community where Hon. Obi Aguocha comes from and votes were openly solicited cannot get attention, then many other rural schools may be facing worse.

For the children of Mbato in Ohuhu, the classroom remains a symbol of failed promises – a place where hope was raised during elections but abandoned afterwards.