On Thursday morning, thousands of primary and secondary school children and teachers across Cross River State were left stranded due to the unexpected declaration of a two-day public holiday by Governor Bassey Otu.
According to a press release by the Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, Nsa Gill, the public holiday is to allow teachers, public officials, and other citizens to travel to their respective wards and local government areas to participate in the local government and ward elections.
Gill released the announcement late last night, by which time many school authorities were unaware of the development.
Many school principals spoken to said they were not pre-informed about the public holiday and had to arrive at their schools to inform the children to return home.
Thousands of school children were seen crowding around their school gates in Calabar, the state capital, while many others were returning to their homes.
The Principal of BROMCO Group of Schools in Calabar, Tari Pujeh, said, “I just heard the announcement this morning over the radio. But I still had to get to the school to announce to the teachers and students.”