Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi yesterday said government has refused to return schools to their original owners because it has become a contentious issue among adherents of both religions.

Speaking at the enthronement of Reverend Amos Ajiboye as the Diocesan Bishop of Agodi Methodist Cathedral of Light, Ibadan at the weekend the governor said that the return of mission schools had become so contentious that any attempt by government to please one religious could set it against another.

The governor's Special Adviser on Media, Dr Festus Adedayo in a statement in Ibadan on Monday, charged religious organizations to continue to partner with his administration in the establishment of more schools in the state. Ajimobi said government alone could not shoulder the responsibilities of funding education, stressing that partnering religious organizations would further enhance government’s efforts at improving the standard of education in the state. He emphasized the need for people in positions of authority to always fulfil their promises to the people and show love to their neighbours in conformity with the religious injunctions.

In his remarks, the Archbishop of Ibadan Methodist Archdiocese, Most Reverend Kehinde Stephen enjoined the governor to intensity efforts in his transformation agenda. He commended the construction of quality road network and the improved environmental condition of Ibadan, the state capital which he said had continued to attract more investors into the state. “I was one of those who used to describe Ibadan as the dirtiest city before, but I want to say confidently that since you arrived, the transformation of the environment has been very obvious. ``You have set the pace in areas that we had thought would never be possible. The entire Ibadan is now becoming green and beautiful; people are now coming to invest in Oyo State," he said.

Earlier in his sermon, the newly-enthroned Bishop, Rev. Ajiboye commended the urban renewal programme of Governor Ajimobi which he noted had transformed the state environmental condition. He appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to proffer a long term solution to the problem of unemployment and insecurity in the country.