By Magnus Emuji
Delta State Government (DTSG) and the Warri Catholic Diocese have resolved the issues concerning the land where a public school was built at the premises of St. Theresa Grammar School, Ekiugbo , Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state through out-of-court settlement.
At the meeting held in Asaba at the instance of the State Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, a specific amount was agreed as compensation to the Warri Catholic Diocese.
In her remarks, the State Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu said she was happy that the issue had been resolved, adding that she was overwhelmed that with the resolution of the issue, the children of Ekiugbo community would have opportunity to access education in public school.
The Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Augustine Oghoro said that the meeting was called by the Commissioner following a letter from the Bishop of Warri Diocese on February 3, 2024.
Oghoro attributed the delay in holding the meeting, that ought to have been held much earlier to several engagements by the both parties, adding that the matter had to do with St. Theresa Grammar School, Ekiugbo in Ughelli North.
He explained that in 2017, the state government in its wisdom handed schools taken over from the mission to be returned to the catholic mission, saying that St. Theresa Grammar School was one the schools affected.
Oghoro, who was speaking while leading the negotiation on the side of government, reminded them that the intention of the state government was to give quality education and sound morals to the children, noting that the case of St. Theresa Grammar School was a peculiar one .
The Education PS said that the state government felt the plight of the children in Ekiugbo community that had to go to far distance to access school.
He said that the letter from the Bishop of Warri Diocese has taken the state government back to its pledge with the Catholic Diocese so that government could recover the infrastructure it had developed in one part of the land to establish public school to ease the stress the children of Ekiugbo community went through in assessing public school.
Speaking on behalf of the Warri Catholic Diocese, the Vicar General of Catholic Diocese of Warri, Very Rev. Fr. Barnabas Esegine informed the state government representatives that they were satisfied with the agreed amount as compensation.
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