President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has thrown his weight behind a series of landmark Bills aimed at establishing new federal universities across Nigeria.
He declared that specialised institutions held the key to national transformation through innovation, skills development, and inclusive education.
This was as the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has said the University of Abuja was only entitled to 4,000 hectares out of the 11,000 hectares of land it illegally apportioned while the remaining 7,000 hectares would be taken over by the FCT Administration.
However, Akpabio spoke at a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Monday.
He emphasised that Nigeria must urgently expand its educational infrastructure to match its growing population and development needs.
The public hearing brought together lawmakers, education stakeholders, civil society groups, and representatives from key government agencies. They deliberated on six tertiary education establishment Bills.
These included the proposed Federal University of Education (Special), Oyo; Federal University of Health Sciences, Funtua, Katsina State; and Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State.
Others were the Federal University of Geomatics, Oyo; Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies, Yaba, Lagos State; and the amendment of the Federal University of Technology, Omoku, Rivers State.
Akpabio said, “These Bills are not just legislative formalities; they are bold steps towards laying the foundation for a prosperous, inclusive, and innovation-driven Nigeria.
“They reflect our recognition of the critical need to address gaps in specialised education and promote regional balance in access to quality tertiary education.”
Akpabio further noted that the focus on universities dedicated to health sciences, education, vocational studies, technology, and geomatics, demonstrates a strategic effort to prepare Nigeria’s youth for 21st-century challenges.
Wike: University of Abuja to Lose 7,000 Hectares of Land
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike said the University of Abuja was only entitled to 4,000 hectares out of the 11,000 hectares of land it illegally apportioned while the remaining 7,000 hectares would be taken over by the FCT Administration.
He affirmed this on Monday, during the commissioning of the newly constructed Access Roads in Giri District, Abuja by President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbass.
The minister accused the University of Abuja of employing subtle means to grab 11,000 hectares of land, saying the construction of Access Road had helped stop the act of the university.
“I said that will not happen. No document, nothing. That’s all you see there, fencing everywhere.
“And before you know it, they were going to sell our land. So, I have told the Director of Lands and the other relevant agencies to carve out 4,000 hectares and give to the university. They are the ones who are going to protect it because we are going to provide the roads here.
“And that’s the situation. We cannot allow it at all. So, you just wake up in the morning, you see, it just starts staggering.
“No document, nothing. That is not the way we are supposed to work. So, as a result, this will be an important district that will attract so many investors,” Wike said.
Olawale Ajimotokan and Sunday Aborisade
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