REJOINDER: TARABA, OMAS TANGO OVER N24B SCHOOL UNIFORM CONTRACT GOV SETS UP VERIFICATION PANEL

 

The attention of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education Taraba State is drawn to a NewDay publication dated 28th April, 2025 – 4th May, 2025 where it tried to misrepresent the circumstances around school materials and uniforms under Kefas’s free education policy.

The ministry ordinarily would not have responded to the cheap and misleading information, but for the avoidance of doubt, it has become necessary for the ministry to furnish the general public with accurate and undiluted information.

After careful examination of the toxic and manipulative publication that holds no iota of truth, we wish to state that the ministry is responding based on paragraph 11 of the news report which states that the Honourable Commissioner in an exclusive interview confirmed to NewDay that it was the disagreement between the State Government and the Contractor that led to the Governor’s decision to set up a verification committee, this is false.

The committee was setup to come up with a template of the school materials that have been procured and also map out strategies for the distribution of the procured school materials to the beneficiaries and various schools across the State. The ministry therefore disassociates itself from the report of the NewDay Newspaper.

The State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education does not join issues with media organizations but however focused on its mandate as an institution of

government. In doing so, the ministry is guided by the tenets of its work and welcomes inputs from the general public that will help the moving forward Captain and Taraba state in general to succeed.

The ministry wants to equally use this opportunity to call on journalist to be professional in their reports and learn to verify facts before publishing and

ensure they discharge their responsibilities based on the principles and canons of journalism which envelopes impartiality and accountability in the gathering, editing and dissemination of newsworthy information to the public.

Dr Augustina Godwin

Honourable Commissioner