FG To Tackle Infrastructure Deficit In Universities

President Bola Tinubu has promised to address the infrastructure deficit in universities and other tertiary institutions in the country.

The president made the promise during the combined convocation ceremony for the 6th, 7th, and 8th sets of graduates of the Federal University of Lafia yesterday.

The issue of decaying structures and poor infrastructure has been a key trigger for strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the years, resulting in closure of institutions for months.

This is even as poor staff welfare and remunerations were also conflict points between unions and the federal government.

However, President Tinubu who was represented by the acting executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr Chris Jbreel-Maiyaki, said the era of strikes and protests over such issues were over as his administration was committed to transforming and meeting other needs of federal government-owned tertiary institutions.

The president decried the indiscriminate award of honorary doctorate degrees by some university managements, pointing out that such tendencies devalue the quality of such degrees and undermine the very core of academic integrity.

According to him, honorary degrees should only be given to deserving Nigerians who have contributed immensely to the development of society.

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, promised to train all the 50 First Class graduates from the three sets in different entrepreneurship skills and give each N500, 000 at the end of the one month training.

He also promised to continue to support the university to enable it achieve its mandate of training the manpower needed for the development of the country.

Earlier, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Shehu Abdul-Rahman, said the combined convocation was for 6, 499 students from 53 departments of 12 faculties, 48 PhD graduates as well as other post-graduates.