Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has pledged his readiness to return schools founded by missionaries in the state.

The decision was announced on Monday following a meeting between the Governor and the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, Gabriel Dunia, in Government House, Benin City, the capital of Edo State.

The governor stated that he is committed to establishing a committee to identify the specific schools that will be handed over to their owners.

He clarified that any of the affected schools currently undergoing renovation by the state government would remain under its supervision until they are completed.

Among the schools expected to be affected by the policy are institutions such as Our Lady of Fatima College, Auchi; St. Angela’s Grammar School in Uzairue; St. John Grammar School in 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 government forcefully took over schools from religious organisations in the 1970s.

Bishop Dunia explained that despite persistent appeals to previous administrations, past governments had not responded positively to the Catholic requests for the return of their institutions.

Bishop Dunia advanced a reason for the return of the educational institutions to the Catholic mission, emphasising 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.”