FG flags off distribution of plastic chairs and desks, hails Aregbesola

The Federal Government on Tuesday said the implementation and execution of educational programmes of the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, can equal any facility found in the United States of America.
The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, Dr. Dikko Suleiman, made this disclosure at the flag-off ceremony for the distribution of plastic desks and chairs to schools in Osun State by the Federal government and UBEC at the Local Authority Government Middle School in Ayetoro, Osogbo.
The Executive Secretary of UBEC, represented by his Deputy, Dr. Yakubu Gambo, stated that the choice of Osun State for the flag-off ceremony by the Federal Government was borne out of the desire to reward hard work and the dedication to delivery of democratic dividends to the electorates by Governor Aregbesola.
Suleiman added that the home grown school feeding programme in Osun State is one programme that has endeared the state to the Federal Government.
He said Osun State is the only one in the country that is diligently feeding school pupils.
The UBEC boss called on all state governments and the Federal ‎Capital Territory to urgently access their matching grants with UBEC, which currently stands at above N58 billion, by making available their counterpart funds to their SUBEB.
According to him: “The quality of the structures and infrastructure that the governor has put in place in Osun can compete with any of such in developed countries.
“What we have in Osun ‎can equal that of the United States.
“The home grown school feeding programme, the O-Meal, in Osun State is one programme that has endeared His Excellency to us because he is the only governor in the country that is doing it religiously despite the capital intensive nature of programme.
“Interestingly, we have embarked on various intervention projects in Osun, some of which are construction of e-library in some schools in Ilesa, Ikirun and Ipetumodu.
“Also, we constructed Almajiri schools at Ede, Osogbo, Ikirun and Iwo.”
Aregbesola, in his address titled: “We are just coming out again,” stated that the numbers of and quality of schools built in Osun State has not been built by any state in Nigeria.
Aregbesola noted that the distribution of chairs and tables to schools, as little as it is, is the beginning of a revolution in education not just in our state but in the entire federation.
He described the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as a purposeful government that recognises education as the instrument for development and societal renewal.
He said Osun State is humbled and delighted to be the pioneer and leading light of the revolution.
The governor stressed that education is an area where his administration’s legacy will be most enduring, hence the substantial intervention by Osun State in education.
He said: “We thank the Almighty God, that in spite of the strident efforts of our adversaries, who have opposed our every step and orchestrated a campaign of calumny against us and our programmes, we have been vindicated.
“By the grace of the Almighty, we shall continue to make progress.
“We are building state of the art 100 elementary schools, 50 middle schools and 20 High Schools in Osun. This is a big project by any standard which has injected life into the construction industry in the state and has provided jobs for different shades of artisans and professionals.
“I want to assure you that we shall complete them all before the end of our tenure.”
Speaking earlier, the Executive Chairman of the Osun State Universal Basic Education Board, Prince Felix Awofisayo, stated that the event marks the new direction and policy thrust of the current Federal Government in repositioning the education sector through direct intervention.
Awofisayo held that the measure will provide succour to countless number of pupils in secondary schools, who constitute the pivotal change agents.
The Osun SUBEB boss stressed that the distribution of chairs and tables is a decisive advance movement, describing the provision as a right sort of qualitative education.
He said: “In our own state, the inauguration of Governor Aregbesola in 2010 marked the beginning of a clear positive development in all facets of life, as the administration is anchored on the full implementation of a cohesive and all-encompassing six point integral action plan of the government.
“Let me reiterate that the provision of functional education for the entire citizenry of the state represents one of the major focal point of this integral action plan of Mr. Governor.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers in Osun State, Comrade Amuda Abdul-Waheed, noted that the materials distributed will be monitored for optimum use.
Abdul-Waheed stated that the choice of Osun State as the first state that the chairs and tables will be distributed is a pointer to the fact that Aregbesola has performed creditably well in the educational sector.
The NUT boss thanked the Federal Government and the Universal Basic Education Commission for the distribution, promising that teachers in the state will cooperate with government in ensuring that the giant stride in education continue in the state.
He said: “We are promising as teachers that we will supervise the use of the materials supplied in our classrooms.
“We also want to thank the Federal Government and UBEC for finding Osun worthy as the flag off state for the distribution in the 36 states in Nigeria.
“I want to believe that the decision was formed because of the outstanding performance of our governor in the area of education, we will continue to strive to ensure that the effort of government is not in vain as we will continue to give out our best.”