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Tag: Benson Idahosa

  • Graduates ex-militants protest non-payment of stipend

    Over 120 ex-militants who recently graduated from the Benson Idahosa University under the Federal Government Amnesty Programme have protested non-payment of their three months stipend.

    The protesting ex-militants said they were supposed to be paid till September, 2018 but there stipends were stopped in June without an explanation.

    They also complained that management of BIU refused to release their certificates after graduation.

    Brandishing placards with various inscriptions, the protesters urged President Mohammadu Buhari to investigate financial activities at the Amnesty office.

    Read Also: Alleged police officer impersonator faces trial

    Sokesman for the protesters, Destiny Onadigha Perewari, said they want Professor Charles Dokubo removed from the Amnesty office.

    Destiny said they have written several letters to the Amnesty office but they didn’t get positive response.

    His words, “We are here to protest against impunity, non-chalant, inhuman, disdain and levity prevalent in the presidential Amnesty office.

    “Our colleagues in other universities were paid their stipend up to September while we were denied of several months of in-training allowance”

  • Idahosa varsity produces 49 First Class at 14th convocation

    It was all fanfare at the Benson Idahosa University (BIU) in Benin City, Edo State, as the school held its 14th convocation. Forty-nine students of the 602 that graduated made  First Class, winning coveted academic prizes.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Sam Guobadia, disclosed tha 84 students graduated with Second Class (Upper Division), 318 got Second Class (Lower Division) and 52 got a Third Class. The school also turned out one doctoral, 60 Masters and 38 Post-graduate students.

    Highlighting BIU‘s achievements under him, the VC said the 32 academic programmes offered in the university had been accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other regulatory bodies, including Council of Legal Education (CLE) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), among others.

    Guobadia also revealed that the university would be introducing the Faculty of Basic Medical and Health Sciences. The new faculty, he said, will offer degree programmes in Nursing and Medical Lab Sciences in preparation for a full-fledged medical college.

    He said that BIU remained the foremost private university in the country, noting that the school had been setting the pace for other tertiary institutions.

    While recalling that the school’s Faculty of Law increased its rating when its students emerged the winners of the 2016 Law Moot Court Competition, Prof Guobadia said Jobberman’s ranking for 2018 named BIU as the best tertiary institution to work in.

    The VC said the Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Faculty of Engineering Complex, Bishop  Matthew Okpebholo Road and the ongoing construction of the main access road in the school had reached 90 per cent completion. These projects, according to him, are due for inuaguration at the commencement of the 2018/2019 academic session.

    He told the graduating students to be good ambassadors of the school, urging them to deploy their knowledge in changing the world.

    He said: “The world right now needs credible leaders who actually have the interest of citizens as priority. The old style of governance has failed; the situation is chaotic and the hunt for credible leaders is on. We implore you to go out there and be the hope of our country. We are very confident that you all have been raised as leaders, who having been found worthy in character, learning and as effective disciples of Christ, will change Nigeria.”

    The VC encouraged the graduands to be brave and not to despair, stressing that they had been empowered with skills that would make them succeed and contribute to the development of the country.

    President of the school Bishop Faith Emmanuel Idahosa urged the graduands to be a generation that would take up the task to change the country.  According to him, the situation in the country has forced a responsibility on them.

    He said: “When you leave campus and get to the real world, you will not get everything handed to you on a platter of gold. The real world will hand out a dose of seriousness that will sober you. Do not talk about your dreams, chase them into the future and drag them into your present. Do not hope for them because hope is not a business plan.”

    The Pro-chancellor, Dr Goddie Isibor, described the graduating set as a “class of fame”, saying it was the university’s “secret weapon” to change Nigeria for the better.

    The Pro-chancellor, who doubles as the chairman of Governing Council, urged the students to engage the world with values upheld by Christ.

    Highlights of the ceremony included the presentation of prizes to valedictorians.

    In her valedictory speech on behalf of the graduating class, Juliet Ezekiel, the Overall Best Graduating Student, said persistence through failure was the story of her success.

    She said: “Failure makes you hungry and humble. Failure forces us to confront our fears. Failure has made a lot of us great and powerful mentors today.

    “Fellow graduates, we have all made sacrifices to be where we are today but I must admit that my experiences have given me an inner security that I would never have attained easily passing examinations. Failure made me discover that I have a strong will, more discipline and determination than I ever expected.”

    Juliet, a graduate of Computer Science, who had a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.95 on a scale of 4.0, said she faced a lot of challenges while in school, but focused on her priorities.

    She expressed gratitude to God for making her feat possible and promised to always strive for excellence. She advised her colleagues to be of good behaviour anywhere they found themselves.

    The occasion was graced by dignitaries across the country, including Edo State Chief Judge, Justice Esohe Ikponwen, NUC’s Director of Accreditation, Dr Noel Salihu, Vice-Chancellors of various universities across the country and traditional rulers.

     

     

  • Ag VC for Benson Idahosa

    Management of the Benson Idahosa University (BIU) has appointed a Professor of Economics, Sam Guobadia, as the Acting Vice Chancellor.

    Guobadia was a former deputy vice chancellor of the university.

    The university’s Head, Communications and Brand Strategy Unit (CBSU), Mr Temi Esonamunjor, in a press statement, said Guobadia’s appointment started upon the expiration of the tenure of the Vice Chancellor, Prof Ernest Izevbigie.

    Temi said Guobadia had previously served as Acting Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Head of Department, Economics and Banking & Finance and Director, BIU Consultancy of the university.

    Guobadia, who is a Fellow of the Institute of Policy management Development (FIPMD) and Institute of Corporate Administration (FICA), has also served as president of West African and African-American Chamber of Commerce in New York, United States.

  • CFI Alumni celebrate homecoming

    It was quite an electrifying experience at the Christian Fellowship International ( CFI ), Benson Idahosa University chapter first Alumni Homecoming.

    The event, organized as the maiden edition, took place at the School of Postgraduate Studies, Benson Idahosa University in Benin, Edo State, as an opportunity to reconnect, network, reinforce the vision and mission of the Fellowship, and foster strong relationships amongst members.

    The event was to also celebrate some outstanding alumni for their achievements and contributions to the society.

    Speaking at the ceremony, the Director of Campus Life Division, Benson Idahosa University, Rev. Laurie Idahosa thanked the association for preserving the doctrine of Archbishop Benson Idahosa for the last twenty years.

    “I will like to appreciate you all for carrying the legacies of the Archbishop Benson Idahosa, the legacies of the Christian Fellowship International, the legacies of the Church of God Mission into the years of services that you served in this institution.”

    She further charged the newly inaugurated Alumni body to go after graduates who have fallen out of the Faith.

    “I want you all to go after those that have left the institution and said I am done, no more chapel. Go after the ones who have left the faith, I want you to go after the ones who are not passionate about God, maybe the way they were during their university years. I want you to go after the ones who are married into difficult homes, the ones who have challenges after they’ve gotten married or after they’ve fallen into the road of work, the ones who have experienced one issue after another,” she said.

    In her address, the President of the fellowship, Ifeyinwa Obinwa stated that the purpose of organizing the reunion was to provide members with an avenue to relax, unwind and ‘network’ and celebrate the Alumni in their various capacities and investments.

    According to her, the inauguration of the Alumni body is to raise its standard to even loftier heights in the coming years and decades,”

    One major side attraction of the event was the interactive session tagged ‘meet your predecessor and successors.’

    Consequently, special prayers were offered for the Alumni to kick-start the new era.

  • Idahosa Varsity faults FG on clearance for Fanta, Sprite

    Idahosa Varsity faults FG on clearance for Fanta, Sprite

    Management of the Benson Idahosa University (BIU), in Edo State has said that a private research carried out on Fanta and Sprite showed that the Federal government was wrong on the green light given to Nigerians to consume the beverages.

    The University said information or data provided by the Federal government on the beverages fell short of addressing the safety concerns raised by the court.

    Speaking to reporters at the weekend, Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Ernest Izevbigie, said the institution owe the society the responsibilities to provide expert opinion on the matter.

    Prof Izevbigie, who is a professor of Biochemistry, said answers provided to questions such as the presence and amount of colourant in Fanta and the concentration of benzoic acid or sodium benzoate in the two beverages and the presence and concentration of benzene were not satisfactory.

    He stated that colourant used in Fanta, the yellow sunset, had been implicated in cytotoxicity, carcinogenesis, allergies and hyper activity in children when the right amount is not used.

    Prof. Izevbigie said the Federal Ministry of Health has some explanation to give on the standard given for the use of 250mg/kg benzoic acid in soft drinks as opposed to 150mg/kg that was obtainable in the United Kingdom and Ghana.

    Izevbigie said pasteurisation and the use of carbon dioxide could achieve the same goal as the use of high benzoic acid without the added health risks.

    He equally remarked that the Fanta produced in Nigeria already contained benzene due to the presence of benzoic acid and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), pointing out that the product already contains Vitamin C and that the warning that it should not be taken with Vitamin C was confounding.

    According to him, “reduction of the sodium benzoate concentration to below 150mg/kg, a removal of Vitamin C as an ingredient in Fanta due to concern for benzene toxicity and the use of natural dye as a replacement for the colourant in Fanta.”