The Kogi State Executive Council has approved the establishment of a state university to be located in the Kogi Western Senatorial District, attesting that the essence amongst many other things was the need to provide more educational facilities for young university hopefuls in the state.
Making the announcement, the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones hinted that the process would involve the inauguration of a 15-man implementation Committee comprised of Professors from all over Kogi State.
He said the committee would be responsible for drafting the university law, academic brief and master plan, saying that they would also be saddled with the task of recommending a suitable location and whether the university would be specialised or conventional.
The Commissioner said ‘’It is expected that the committee will give its report within the next one month from the 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’’
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 reasons for the establishment of the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara was to mitigate the challenge of the state’s qualified students, not gaining admission to courses of their choice because of the fact that Kogi is regarded as a state that is educationally advantaged.
According to him, Kogi West is blessed with tons of academia and highly known for education, hence putting a university in Kogi West, particularly Okun land would be appreciated.
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 an 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, Samson Bako hinted that the State Executive Council also 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 an advanced stage of completion.
The council also ratified additional work for Okene Township Road and the School of Nursery and Midwifery Obangede.
