Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has approved the return of schools to missionary organisations in Edo State.According to a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the decision followed a meeting between the governor and the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, Gabriel Dunia, on Monday at the Government House in Benin City, the state capital. The statement noted that Governor Okpebholo would establish a committee to identify the specific schools to be handed over. The statement reads:
“Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has approved the return of schools to missionary organisations in the state. Any of the affected schools currently undergoing renovation by the state government will remain under its supervision until completion.” Among the schools expected to be affected by this policy are prominent institutions such as Our Lady of Fatima College, Auchi; St Angela’s Grammar School, Uzairue; St John Grammar School, Fugar; St Peter’s Grammar School, Agenebode; St James’s Grammar School, Afuze; St Joseph College, Otuo; St Mary Grammar School, Eme-Ora; and St Aloysius Gonzaga Grammar School, Ososo.
The move comes decades after the civilian government took over Catholic primary and secondary schools in the 1970s. Bishop Dunia revealed that despite persistent appeals to previous administrations, the state government had not responded positively to the church’s requests for the return of their institutions until now. He emphasised the strategic importance of these educational institutions to the Catholic mission, highlighting their role not only in the intellectual formation of children but also in fostering “ideal moral character, which constitutes the bedrock of a good society.”
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