SUBEB threatens action against defaulting contractors in Oyo

The Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) on Friday threatened to terminate all uncompleted and unexecuted contracts, three years after they were awarded.

Oyo SUBEB’s Executive Chairman, Dr Nureni Adeniran, said this in a statement issued by the Board’s Spokesman, Michael Ogunsina, in Ibadan.

Adeniran said that the Board was contemplating legal action against contractors handling long overdue projects, who had either abandoned them or failed to execute same to a level commensurate with the funds they had received.

The chairman said that some contractors had failed to justify the contracts awarded to them by the past administration in the state, while some of them had abandoned such projects.

Adeniran’s position as the executive chairman of the Board had enabled him to uncover how contractors had ripped-off the state government with shoddy jobs, after collecting huge sums for the projects.

He said that the Board would, as a matter of duty, recruit security guards to secure public primary schools in the state soon.

The SUBEB chairman stated that this would help to prevent intrusion, invasion and vandalism of public primary schools property in Oyo State.

Adeniran said that the 2019 Intervention Project would allow the rebuilding of some public primary schools’ perimeter fences.

He remarked that the board had a good synergy with all the relevant security agencies that would assist in securing the public primary schools in the state.

According to the SUBEB chairman, the contract for four model schools, awarded this year, has been completed, while the fifth is nearing completion.

Adeniran said that the education stakeholders in Oyo State were committed to revamping the sector, including the fixing of problem of inadequate infrastructure.

“The Education family, which includes the Commissioner for Education, the Teaching Service Commission, the Oyo SUBEB Chairman and other relevant stakeholders in the state’s education sector, are developing a holistic and comprehensive approach to resolve the problem of inadequate infrastructure in public schools.

“On the issue of gratuity, what the Gov. Seyi Makinde-led government has paid in just over one year is more than what the past administration has paid in eight years.

“The Board is ready to assist the Ministry of Education in monitoring the common entrance examinations for primary six pupils, to be conducted by the ministry.

“The common entrance examinations had to be postponed because of the ongoing WAEC examinations in schools that are centres for the conduct of the examinations,” he said.

Adeniran disclosed that the management of the board had been divided into five teams, to cover the five zones, for effective monitoring and management of the common entrance examinations in the state.

“The Board will still recruit more teachers to fill the vacant positions in the state,” he noted.