Lokoja – The Kogi State government has approved the establishment of a new university to be cited in the western senatorial district of the state.
The state Commissioner for education, science and technology, Wemi Jones disclosed this to newsmen in Lokoja on Wednesday.
If it becomes a reality, the university will be the third to be owned by the state government.
Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyingba and Cinfluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara , are the two existing universities owned by the state government.
Jones who spoke to journalists shortly after the weekly state executive council meeting explained that the idea behind the establishment of the new university is to provide more educational space for the teeming young university admission seekers in the state.
The Commissioner said a 15-man Implementation Committee will soon be inaugurated by the state government to kickstart the process of establishing the proposed university.
According to him, the Committee will be made up of experts to be drawn from across the state.
Jones said the committee will be saddled with the responsibility of drafting the university law, academic brief, the master plan aming other terms of reference.
He said the committee be asked to recommend a suitable location for the university and whether it should be conventional or specialised university.
‘’It is expected that the committee will give its report within one month of its inauguration so that we can move as fast as possible as it would be the government’s desire to see the university kick off before the end of this tenure,” he said.
Giving an instance, the Commissioner narrated that during the last admission exercise at the Prince Abubakar Audu University there was a population explosion of prospective intakes as the school had over 25,000 admission seekers as against capacity intake of about 6,000, noting that even indigenes of the state were possibly deprived of admission or their intended course of study.
He recalled that one of the primary reason for the establishment of Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara was to mitigate the challenge facing qualified admission seekers from the state.
According to him, Kogi West is blessed with a lot of academicians and highly known for education, hence putting a university in Kogi West, particularly Okunland is so apt
The Commissioner asserted that funding has been and would always be a challenge but the government decided to take the bull by the horn and make such audacious move, while he assured that the 15-man committee would be mandated to make recommendations on sources of funding for the approved institution
In his own briefing, the Commissioner for Works, Simon Bako hinted that the state Executive Council approved the procurement of 3 modern fire trucks as part of plans to ensure rapid responses and salvage any possible fire outbreak in the state.
He also noted that the council received reports and ratified some of the ongoing projects across the state, including the construction of internal roads at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, itakpe – Okene – Total road which has both reached advanced stage of completion.
He said the council also ratified additional work for Okene Township Road and the school of Nursery and Midwifery Obangede.
Also speaking, the Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed reiterated that the state government under the leadership of Governor Bello has remained consistent in delivering on the infrastructural development pledge made to the people of the state.
He assured that ongoing projects would be completed in due course. (vitalnewsngr.com)
