Members of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in Kwara State have been inaugurated at a ceremony attended by top management officials of the school. The event ended weeks of electoral activities on the campus.
The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Sulyman Abdulkareem, represented by the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof L.T. Ajibade, described the electoral process that produced the union leaders as free and fair, urging the students to close ranks and work for the school’s progress.
Ajibade said: “The election that brought you into your respective offices was free and fair. I make bold to say this, because the process was monitored by the Students’ Affairs unit and observers accredited by Independent Students’ Electoral Commission (ISEC). For the first time in history of UNILORIN, eligible and capable students vie for the office and no candidate was screened out for any reason.”
He said the Student Affairs unit would always keep a watch on electoral process being conducted by students in order to have free and fair elections.
He congratulated elected union officials and urged them to put the welfare of students above personal gains.
The former president of the union, Ridwan Abimbola, who gave a valedictory speech titled: Success: A different stroke for different folks, said his administration recorded many successes because of the team work among members of the union. He urged his successor to be focused and never to be discouraged by criticisms, saying: “There will always be different strokes for different folks.”
The union president, Oluwaseyi Animashaun, a 500-Level Medical student, who titled his speech: Together we can invest in our people, said: “My predecessor’s administration achieved a lot with a few flaws. But in all, it was an administration built for us to progress as a union. It is the efforts of all members of the union that make association grow strong and not necessarily the might of people in leadership.”
Oluwaseyi said the cardinal point of his campaign was to investing in people, saying the objective was inspired by the speech of American billionaire, Bill Gates, when he visited Nigeria during which he recommended to government to invest in people.
He promised that his activities would focus on welfare of the students, adding that there would be new approach to tackle challenges facing students, including transportation, accommodation, and security on and off campus.