The Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University(EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, Prof. Edward Olanipekun, has lauded the Federal government for initiating the Needs Assessment Funds to tackle infrastructural deficit in Nigerian universities.
Olanipekun, who described the fund as a product of struggles and relentless battles fought by various unions in the universities, made the remarks in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday while receiving the Federal Ministry of Education’s Needs Assessment Project Monitoring Committee in his office.
The Vice Chancellor noted that without efforts by the unions, Nigerian universities would have been nothing to write home about in terms of facilities, adding that with good infrastructure that meet global standard, Nigerian universities ranking will go up on webometrics while graduates would be respected and employable anywhere in the world.
Also speaking on the significance of the fund, the chairman, Needs Assessment Project Monitoring Committee, Alhaji Mohammed Aruna, said his team was in Ekiti State to monitor how the disbursed funds were expended.
Aruna, who is also the National Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian University (SSANU), said it was expedient to ascertain judicious utilisation of the funds for specified projects in order to prevent corruption.
He therefore commended the Vice Chancellor for being dogged in the execution of several developmental activities in EKSU.
“I am impressed with the laudable projects I am seeing. The EKSU VC has been able to convince us that the standard of education can be enhanced with minimal funding.
“With what I have heard from you, the management team has really thought outside the box to generate money internally, block leakages and Initiate programmes that would ensure good infrastructures and better welfare package for the survival of this university,” the Monitoring Committee Chairman said.
Aruna, who also praised EKSU SSANU’s newly elected executives, urged them to work in tandem with the management for stability and high academic standard of the institution.