In the streets of Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor, Eleme, and rural communities across Rivers State, a familiar sense of frustration is growing louder. Just weeks after the Rivers State Government announced the approval of 5,000 teacher recruitment slots — a move widely celebrated as a major boost to the education sector — many residents and job seekers are now calling it another “ghost employment” scheme.
The announcement came in late January 2026 during the second Executive Council meeting of the year, presided over by Governor Siminalayi Fubara at Government House, Port Harcourt. The state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications (Permanent Secretary), Dr. Honor Sirawoo, told journalists that 3,000 of the new hires would be deployed to basic and primary schools, while 2,000 would go to post-primary institutions. Officials described the decision as a deliberate effort to tackle teacher shortages, reduce student-teacher ratios, and improve learning outcomes across the state.
The government also highlighted that this latest exercise would bring the total number of people employed under the Fubara administration to around 9,500, citing earlier recruitments into health services, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, and the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB).
Yet, for many Rivers indigenes who have spent years chasing teaching appointments, the headline figures ring hollow.
Years of Waiting, Repeated Disappointments
“I applied in 2019 during the last major recruitment exercise. Names were shortlisted, interviews held, but nothing came out of it,” said Chikaodi Nwankwo, a 34-year-old graduate of English Education from the University of Port Harcourt. “Then in 2022–2023 we heard about another list. Again, silence. Now they are talking about 5,000 more. We are tired of promises.”
Similar stories echo across WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages, and street corners. Many applicants point to previous recruitment drives under both the Nyesom Wike and early Fubara administrations that either stalled, were allegedly hijacked by political interests, or simply vanished after media announcements.
“Every election cycle or budget season, they promise thousands of jobs — teachers, health workers, youth empowerment schemes. The forms come out, people pay agents huge sums, write exams, and then… nothing,” said Eberechi Amadi, a mother of three who has been searching for a teaching position since 2018. “We now call it ‘ghost recruitment’. The jobs exist only on paper and in newspaper headlines.”
Political Context Fuels the Skepticism
The skepticism is deepened by the lingering political tension between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike (Minister of the Federal Capital Territory). In January 2026, Wike publicly accused Fubara of cancelling a 10,000-youth employment programme that his administration had supposedly initiated before leaving office in 2023. Fubara’s team has maintained that many of those earlier exercises were either improperly handled or never fully implemented.
Critics argue that the latest 5,000-teacher approval is partly a political response to those accusations — a way to demonstrate that the current administration is serious about job creation. Supporters, however, insist the move is genuinely aimed at fixing chronic understaffing in public schools.
What the Government Says
Government officials have repeatedly stressed that the process will be merit-based and transparent. Dr. Sirawoo assured citizens that only qualified candidates would be engaged and that the recruitment would be properly guided. The Commissioner for Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment, Dr. Chisom Kenneth Gbali, described the approval as “a significant boost” and promised close collaboration with the Ministry of Education to ensure successful implementation.
Yet no clear timeline, application portal, shortlist criteria, or interview schedule has been publicly released as of early February 2026. This absence of concrete next steps has only fuelled suspicion.
A Cry for Action, Not Announcements
For residents like Nwankwo and Amadi, the issue is simple: they want to see names published, letters of appointment issued, and people resuming work in classrooms — not more press briefings.
“We are not against the government creating jobs,” said Amadi. “We are against the cycle of hope, hype, and then disappointment. If the 5,000 teachers will really be employed, let the process start openly and let us see results. We are tired of promises that disappear like smoke.”
Until that happens, the phrase “ghost 5,000 teaching recruitment” is likely to remain part of everyday conversation in Rivers State — a bitter shorthand for hope deferred, yet again.
