Adebayo Adenrele
…promises repositioning of EKSU
Governor Oyebanji of Ekiti State has identified the politicization of school fees in Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti(EKSU) as one of the sources of crises in the 41-year-old Institution.
Oyebanji stated this while receiving a delegation of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) led by its Vice President.
The Governor called on all the stakeholders in the University to have a meeting where the development and repositioning of the Institution would be discussed and bring an end to all myriads of problem bedeviling the University.
Oyebanji said repositioning of the institution would be in collaboration with the University Council, management and unions , students body, parents and other stakeholders.
He assured that his government would return EKSU to its pride of place and save it from total collapse.
As part of the measures to illuminate the State, he promised restoration of electricity supply to the University through the state owned Independent Power Project (IPP).
He also pledged prompt completion of the 12kilometer road from Ado-Ekiti through the University gate to Iworoko Ekiti to make the campus more conducive for academic work.
According to him, “I’m obligated to EKSU, EKSU produced me and I’m proud of it. So, I plead with you to show patience and see what we are going to do, because I have confidence in the ability of the newly appointed council members to bring to bear there wealth of experience in ensuring that we have a university that works, university that gives you pride and which guarantee a stable educational system.
“As a government, we are working so hard to ensure that we get electricity to that place, we are constructing the road to Iworoko. Part of the reason why we are doing that is to ensure that you have thoroughfare to campus and we’ve spent billions of Naira on that road just to make life easy for you.
“EKSU is sick, extremely sick and its in ICU and we have a choice to either live it to die and close it down or we attempt a revival of that institution.
“One thing I can assure you is that we can’t be emotional about the problem in EKSU, students complain that they don’t graduate on time, workers are not been paid regularly. You spoke about subvention.
“We have a choice either to push for a 21st century institution or a glorified secondary school, I went to the same university and I knew how it was then compared to now with respect to quality of education not minding the physical structures. I don’t know if you are aware, Mr Vice President, that for the past ten years, EKSU has no electricity despite having students studying Engineering and Computer Science, last week I demanded for what it will cost government to extend that state’s IPP to the university and they said it will cost N500Million, I will rather do that than ask the university to bear the cost.
“The reason I am saying this is for you to know that we have a stake in the University because most of the cabinet members including myself were alumni of EKSU. I have an endowment of N250,000 in the institution for the best student. So, all of us are critical stakeholders in that University. The Governor stated.
Also at the meeting were the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Habibat Adubiaro, Head of Service, Barr. Bamidele Agbede, Special Adviser on Education, Science and Technology, Dr Bimpe Aderiye, Special Adviser, Media and Strategy, Yinka Oyebode, Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr Kayode Arogundade and former President of NANS, Comrade Sunday Ashefon.
