Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa State Governor, Thursday approved the release of a N3 billion TETFUND high impact fund, aimed at providing an enabling learning environment at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
Governor Sule gave the approval in a remark at the 6th combined convocation ceremony of the university, in Keffi, headquarters of Keffi Local Government.
According to the Governor, he would continue to build on the legacies of his predecessors towards taking NSUK to an enviable heights.
While highlighting achievements recorded by his administration, Sule emphasized that education remains the most enduring legacy that can be given to the children of the state, especially in view of the challenges confronting the nation.
“No amount of investment and sacrifice can be too much to provide quality education to our people,” he said.
He explained that, it was for this reason that his administration has accorded priority attention to education by allocating 26 to 35 percent of the state’s annual budget between 2019 and 2022.
“It may interest you to note that, in view of our passion, we continue to make personal donations for education. The Nasarawa State Government has approved the allocation of bail out funds to enable the institution to pay staff salaries during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as donated the fertilizer blending plant to the faculty of agriculture of this institution.
“In addition, we facilitated the establishment of the faculty of engineering and college of medicine and health sciences which will commence full academic activities this year,” the Governor explained.
Sule said his administration also intervenes in the area of construction and upgrading of primary and secondary schools, as well as enhancing capacity building and improving the quality of hardware and software that will facilitate the delivery of set objectives in ICT driven educational systems.
Read also: Osinbajo graces Nasarawa Varsity convocation
He commended the founding fathers of the institution, Abdullahi Adamu, who established the university in 2001, which has grown to become one of the most enviable institutions in the country.
“I must also recognise and appreciate the support that the university has continued to enjoy from successive administrations since 2007. I therefore pledge to build on the enviable legacies of my predecessors, to sustain the strides thus achieved,” he said.
The Governor congratulated the graduands, and urged them to use their knowledge and skills acquired as potentials for accelerating their career development, as well as add value to the technological, industrial and socioeconomic development of the country.
Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President, who also was the special guest, commended the university for attaining this feat, twenty years after it was established.
According to the Vice President, the state university has come a long way, as being demonstrated by the quality of its alumni that have continued to excel in almost every field of human endeavour, which include the immediate past VC of the institution, Prof Mohammed Akaro Mainoma, who is also the current president of the ANAN and Hajiya Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, the current Minister of State for the FCT.
Osinbajo also commended Abdullahi Adamu for his bold vision to establish the university, commitment of succeeding administrations, as well as the dedication of the university’s administrative and academic staff.
“Let me also commend the VC, the entire academic and administrative staff, whose hard and sometimes thankless work, has culminated in the momentous celebration of academic excellence and attainment that are here for today,” he said.
Earlier, Suleiman Bala Mohammed, the vice chancellor of the University, said the sixth combined convocation of the institution marks a significant milestone in the history of Nasarawa State university because it coincides with the university’s 20th anniversary.
In paying tributes to the founding fathers and critical stakeholders of the university, the VC said, the aim of establishing the university was essentially to provide the avenue for the indigenes of the state to pursue and acquire university education that will prepare the graduates and equip them with adequate skills needed for the development of the state and country at large.
