By SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN — GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has denied allegations that money was missing from the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB.

The governor, during the swearing-in of Mr. Washington Osifo as the Commissioner for Secondary and Tertiary Education, at the Government House in Benin City, said: “There are speculations as to why we made changes. The only thing that is constant in life, in public service, is change. What matters, therefore, is to know when to make that change. Let me clear the air that no money is missing. If money is missing, we will find it because money doesn’t have legs.

“It is only in societies where public authority is dead that you talk of money being missing. If money is stolen, we will find it. Money doesn’t simply get missing, not in our government. The challenge of running an efficient system is not just about money missing or not missing, it is about how money is applied and there are all sorts of procedures that the public service is obliged to follow. There are all sorts of rules, regulations and laws that govern our actions.

“In this business, the end does not always justify the means. The means must be appropriate. My reply to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is that their name in this state is synonymous with the theft of public recourses and Edo people agree with that. I ask them to explain to Edo people, while they were in power for 11 years, where  is the money voted in the budget for schools? Were the schools built with those funds?

“I am happy that there is nobody in the state who cannot point to what this government has done in his or her area. I will appeal to Action Congress of Nigeria leaders not to be distracted by those tiny minds.”

“What you must spend your time thinking about is fresh initiatives that you need to bring on board in our determination to improve the quality of public education in this state, to sustain the fight against miracle centres, ensure that those schools recognised by government either private or public, if it doesn’t meet the basic requirement of government for running the school and ensure that the Edo child, who is in the school is in safe hands.”