Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has pledged to provide the major facilities
needed for the full take-off of the three newly established universities
in the state, within the limits of available resources.
The governor disclosed this, on Tuesday, while inspecting ongoing
projects at the new Dennis Osadebe University, Asaba.
He said that he would do everything humanly possible, in the remaining
two years of his administration, to ensure that the universities ran all
courses approved by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Okowa, who was in company of the Vice-Chancellor of the Delta State
University, Abraka, Prof. Andy Egwunyenga, and Commissioner for Higher
Education, Prof. Patrick Muoghare, said all activities were on course
for the institutions to take off in September and solicited support of
all stakeholders.
He charged the contractors handling the projects to redouble efforts, as
his administration was in a hurry to leave lasting legacies in the
state, including in the education sector.
“I believe that we are on course because we don’t need to have all the
facilities fully, but at least when they come in, they need to see
progress and then they will come back to site to see what we are doing.
“In the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, where we are now, with the
main building, the classroom blocks and offices, auditoriums on two
sides, and what we also saw in the Faculty of Agriculture, you can see
we are progressing.
“In the first year, we won’t be admitting into all the courses, but some
courses have been approved for admissions and I believe that the two
buildings in the faculty of environmental sciences will definitely be
completed by the end of September.
“That of faculty of agriculture will most likely be completed in 2022,
but the good thing is that they have places to start from.
“There are other structures that are existing in the campus that we are
going to put under construction to enable completion before the end of
September,” he said.
Okowa assured that equal attention would be given to the three new
universities, to enable them compete favourably with other tertiary
institutions in the country and beyond.
“Next year, I will have to apply a lot of funds to the three
universities. I intend to visit the University of Science and
Technology, Ozoro, and on Thursday, I will be at University of Delta,
Agbor,” he said.
Earlier, the Project Consultant, Mr Kester Ifeadi, who conducted the
governor and his team round various project sites at the institution,
said the first phase of the faculty and administrative buildings would
be completed in line with the contractual agreement.
He disclosed that the main faculty building would house 20 lecture
rooms, double auditoriums of 250-sitting capacity each, laboratories,
offices for the lecturers and other administrative staff, among other
facilities.
On their part, Commissioner for Higher Education, Muoboghare and his
counterpart in Housing, Chief Festus Ochonogor, remarked that the
institution had structures that would be used for the take-off of
academic sessions and lauded the governor for giving approval for the
construction and total upgrade of the university’s facilities.
The governor also inspected the Vice Chancellor’s lodge and ongoing
building for the Department of Agriculture, where he expressed dismay
over some structural defects and directed the commissioner for housing
to ensure that the errors were quickly rectified. (NAN).