Ebonyi state government has promised to return all mission schools to their original owners, Governor Francis Nwifuru declared in Abakaliki on Sunday.
Nwifuru made the promise during a pastoral visit to him by the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, Peter Nworie.
The governor acknowledged that the Catholic Church and others were tactical in improving the quality of education in Ebonyi.
He directed the commissioner for primary and secondary education and the commissioner for justice to begin the process of returning the schools to the missions.
Nwifuru said, “We are badly challenged in the area of education. We have agreed at a cabinet meeting to send 100 first class and second class upper division graduates to countries of their choice to further their education.
“We will also sponsor 300 persons to study for their master’s degrees in Nigeria’s institutions of higher learning of their choice. We won’t hesitate if the Catholic Church or other missions are ready to take back their schools that were taken over by government.”
The governor commended the bishop for the visit and blessing of the congregation of the Government House chapel.
Nwifuru promised to carry churches along in his administration.
Mr Nworie said the church was ready to work with the government to enhance teaching and learning in Ebonyi.
“Those schools were forcefully taken away from us after the Civil War. The governor knows our feelings about this,” stated the bishop.
The cleric also expressed the readiness of the church under his leadership to support the governor in achieving his goals for Ebonyi. He commended Mr Nwifuru for his administration’s positive steps so far.
He also called on the governor’s cabinet members to fully support Mr Nwifuru.
“If there is failure in your area, there is a failure in the whole government because the success of any member of the cabinet is the success of the governor and that of the whole government. Today’s reading is an invitation for all members of the current government to assist the governor to achieve his goals for the state,” Nworie noted.
