CATHOLIC BISHOPS LAUD OBI OVER SCHOOLS HANDOVER

Y VINCENT UJUMADU
AWKA-Catholic bishops in Anambra State have described the return of all mission schools to their original owners by Governor Peter Obi as an unparalleled feat of courage and political will.

A statement signed by the bishops noted that the schools taken over by government after the civil war and subsequent monopoly of education by government, plunged the standard of education to an all time low and destroyed morality and discipline in schools and the wider society.

The bishops said successive administrations were aware of the harmful and disastrous situation, but lacked the political will and courage to handle the matter until Governor Obi, in his characteristic manner, took the bull by the horn and initiated necessary legal framework to facilitate the process.

They stated that the return of the schools to their legitimate owners and unalloyed financial support to the missions to reconstruct the schools had entered the governor's name indelibly in the annals of good governance and extolled his concern for moral values in governance and his efforts to change the paradigm of governance to service to the people.

The Catholic bishops noted that his fiscal responsibility in governance had made him the most frugal governor and earned him a place in the economic management of the country.

They commended what they described as Obi's transparency, sense of justice, equity and fairness in distributing available funds to the three agencies involved in running primary schools in the state.

They also assured him that the partnership and collaboration with the church will yield the expected dividends.