President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Daura, Katsina State, said
University of Transportation, which will be the first in Africa, will
provide technical skills, enhance managerial capacity and pave way for
innovation in Nigeria’s transport system, while creating more job
opportunities.
Speaking at ground-breaking ceremony of the pioneer University of
Transportation in Daura, President Buhari noted that the transport
sector was in dire need of new thinking, skills and investment, assuring
that the university will open up opportunities for economic growth.
“The project is part of the ongoing effort of the Federal Government
towards promotion and development of indigenous capacity through
technology acquisition and knowledge transfer to effectively maintain
and operate numerous railway infrastructure,” he said.
The President said the policy on development of indigenous capacity will
be vigorously pursued by the government.
“When established the university would among other things pave way for
domestication of railway engineering and general transportation sciences
in Nigeria thereby bridging the technology and skill gap in the railway
and ultimately transportation sector,” he added.
President Buhari said the university, which is an investment by China
Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), will be fully supported
by the Federal Government with guidelines to ensure domestication that
will support local infrastructure.
While commending the Katsina State government for speedily providing
land for the university, and the Ministry of Transportation for the
initiative, the President said his administration will continue to
prioritize railway transportation that will reduce cost of
transportation and ease movement.
In his remarks, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State said the
university will further boost the efforts of the state in providing
sound education and technical skills to indigenes of the state.
The governor said the infrastructure of the state had been improved with
the construction of many roads, adding that the university will provide
requisite technical and managerial skills.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the siting the
university in Daura will encourage cultural exchange as well as fill the
gap in technical and managerial skills for the transport sector.
“The decision to bring this university to Daura was purely mine,” he
added.