The Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole (SAN), has disclosed that the institution is partnering with Chinese embassy and other embassies to provide metro railway to solve the persistent institution’s transportation problem.
Speaking with journalists during his maiden media interaction in Ilorin on Wednesday, the Vice-Chancellor said that transportation of a large number of staff and students, to and fro the campus, could be challenging, adding that the metro railway system would be specifically designed to run in the institution and the other metropolitan cities.
Egbewole, who said that the plan for possible railway metro transportation had been in the process for years, adding that Unilorin is also working on getting electric buses to address the university’s transportation problem.
The vice chancellor, appointed over three months ago as the 11th Vice Chancellor of the institution, said that N500 million was released to the institution by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) for construction of hostels for students.
He also explained that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with some foreign universities to further improve learning and research in the institution.
While promising to turn the institution to a Smart University, the vice chancellor noted that Unilorin is partnering with industries on turning academic researches to industrial use.
“We are remodeling the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to ensure ventures are run like business.
“We will ensure that the IGR are properly managed by blocking all loopholes,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor said that students of the school will be allowed to vote in the 2023 general elections without any need for the school to be on holiday.
According to him, the institution has made innovation with virtual learning which takes care of transportation challenge among others.
“Our team is prepared to ensure Revenue Generation drive through strategic repositioning of the IGR Units and Engagements of MDAs for synergy, support and collaboration.”
Egbewole noted that he was not prepared for an easy fix for decayed infrastructure, dying university culture, abandoned academic traditions, intergenerational disconnect among staff and palpable feeling of disenchantment arising from a long and punitive strike.
“Doing so would make me wear a hypocritical tag of a man who wanted to build a castle in the air. I am also not mistaken about my inability to do it alone. That is why right from the start, I identified the imperative of teamwork, stressing that together, everyone achieves more.
“At the University of Ilorin, it is work in progress, not a mission accomplished. I am certain that we shall continue to build magnificently on the solid foundation laid by our founding fathers,” he said.
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