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Tag: FUTA

  • I faced persecution at FUTA for being honest,says Ex-VC, Daramola

    The immediate past Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology,Akure (FUTA)  Prof Adebiyi Daramola has hinged his ordeals towards the end of his tenure in the University on his resolve to run prudent administration.

    Prof.Daramola noted that there were forces that wanted him to compromise his integrity, which he vehemently resisted.

    The don who spoke to reporters yesterday in Akure, the Ondo state capital said this rift even led to non-approval of any single intervention programme for a whole five years of his tenure as VC in the University.

    According to him” I was so determined not to join forces that were hell-bent in destroying the good image of the Institution, I thought of posterity in all my actions”.

    It would be recalled that allegations of fraud were levelled against the former VC by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).He was summoned to Abuja for interrogation on the matter.

    However, the Ondo state High Court sitting in Akure on February 7, discharged him of the fraud allegations.

    The academic ,who is now a Consultant to the World Bank said” I came to FUTA with a vision and becoming its VC after spending 26 years within the system”.

    He recalled that there was a policy that primary school within the University should generate its own revenue as against being solely funded by FUTA’s management.

    His words” The unions were fighting for their check-off dues, and demanding 40 percent of the Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) which I disagreed with and which no VC could accept”.

    Daramola said incidentally he was the Chairman, Committee of Vice Chancellors in Nigeria during the crisis, stressing that as a leader, one must have a direction.

    However, he urged the federal government to look at ways of funding Universities to facilitate high standards.

     

     

  • FUTA gets new DVC

    The Governing Council of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) has approved the appointment of Prof Deji Rufus Ogunsemi as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) of the institution.

    The confirmation is sequel to his election to the position by the Senate of the university at its 289th statutory meeting held on Wednesday, April 3, 2019.

    Ogunsemi, who will serve for two years in the first instance, will be responsible to the Vice Chancellor in all academic matters, including administration, curriculum development, examinations, admissions and related Senate.

    A  Professor of Quantity Surveying, Ogunsemi was born March 16, 1965 in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

    He obtained his Bachelor and Master’s in Building and Quantity Surveying from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (1988 and 1997). His Phd in Quantity Surveying came from FUTA in 2002.

    The new DVC joined FUTA April 30, 1992 as Graduate Assistant in the Department of Estate Management and Quantity Surveying. He became a Professor on September 28, 2006.

    Ogunsemi has served in many administrative capacities in the university. He served as Departmental Coordinator (1992-1997), (1997-2001) and Head of Department (2001-2006). He also served as: Coordinator, Postgraduate Diploma Programme (1997-2001); Chairman, Staff Housing Loans Committee (2010 to date); Dean, School of Environmental Technology for two ( terms (2009-2013); Chairman, Committee of Deans (2011-2012); Chairman, Appointments and Promotions Sub-Committee on recommendations for Promotion (Junior Staff) (2011-2017); and Senate Representative on Council (2013-2017).

    Ogunsemi is married and blessed with children.

  • FUTA don, student win int’l awards

    Dr. Omamuyovwi Ijomone of the Department of Human Anatomy, School of Health and Health Technology (SHHT), Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) has been awarded 20, 000 euros upon the recommendation of the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO) fellowships, Travel Grants and Return Home Program (RHP) Committee.

    The award, which is part of the 2018/2019 IBRO Return Home Fellowship, is to enable him start up laboratory and research work.

    The IBRO Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship helped in supporting Ijomone’s one year post-doctoral work at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, United States of America, in 2017.

    In a letter conveying the message, the Director of Professional Development Programmes, Rebecca Hadid, PhD wrote: “We congratulate you on what we hope will be a valuable individual award and we wish you the best in establishing your laboratory.”

    Also a student of the same department, Tunde Elemoso, has won the Undergraduate Achievement Award of the Society for Endocrinology, United Kingdom for emerging as the best student in his category.

    Elemoso is the best ranked student on the Dean’s List of the department, with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.82. The Undergraduate Achievement Award is given to encourage excellence in the study of endocrinology related courses by recognising outstanding work from undergraduate students. The accolade comes with a certificate of award and sum of £300 from the Society.

    The acting head of department of Anatomy, who is the departmental representative to the Society for Endocrinology, Dr Victor Ukweanya, said that Elemoso has indicated interest in using `the fund to execute his undergraduate research project.

    Congratulating the duo, FUTA Vice-Chancellor, Prof Joseph Fuwape, noted with pride that the department was contributing its quota to making FUTA a great citadel of learning and Centre of excellence that it is known for.

    He urged them not to relent in attaining excellence in academic research and scholarship.

  • FUTA renames PG Hall

    The Federal University of Technology Akure, (FUTA), has renamed the institution’s Postgraduate Hall after Senator Joseph Waku, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the institution who died on February 3, 2019.

    FUTA Vice-Chancellor, Prof Joseph Fuwape, made this known at the home of the late senator in Makurdi, Benue State, at the weekend during the burial ceremonies for the late Senator.

    He said the decision to immortalise Senator Waku who served FUTA meritoriously and contributed significantly to the development of the institution, was approved by the Council.

    Read also: Court stops FUTA VC from spending earned allowances

    According to Fuwape, “Waku, as the Chairman of Council, kick-started the commercial farming by FUTA on 15 hectares of land as part of efforts to boost the Internally Generated Income for the institution and to educate peasant farmers around FUTA and Akure environs on mechanised farming.

    He also jump-started the process leading to the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Bitumen Exploration in FUTA.

    Under Waku’s leadership,the VC said plans to establish the institution’s teaching hospital was revitalised with the release of the land for the project by the Akure Kingdom and the Certificate of Occupancy by the Ondo State Government”.

    He said the “Joseph Waku Postgraduate Hall” will remind students, staff and the general public that Senator Waku, who served as Pro Chancellor between May 9, 2017 and February 3, 2019 passed through FUTA and left indelible marks.

  • Alumni vow to resist change of FUTA’s name

     

     

    Former students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) on Wednesday said any move by the Federal Government to re-name the institution after ex-President Shehu Shagari would be vehemently resisted.

    At a news conference in Akure, they vowed not to entertain such moves.

    They promised to mobilise all students and Akure, the host community and other stakeholders against the Federal Government.

    Founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has suggested to the Federal Government to rename FUTA after the late Shagari.

    His administration initiated the Act of Parliament that established the institution.

    President of FUTA Alumni Association, Adesomoju Olaitan, said the identity change would affect the fortune of the university if allowed.

    Olaitan said: “After extensive consultation and discussions with alumni members globally, we wish to state clearly that the overwhelming majority vehemently oppose any name change to our alma mater.

    “It is of note that FUTA was not the only university established by the Act of Parliament during Alhaji Sheu Shagari’s regime, at least six other Federal Universities of Technology were established.”

    The old students said the Federal Government should consider any of the other institutions in the North instead of an institution in the South.

    They pointed out the Federal Government named the University of Ife after Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a university in the South instead of a university in the North.

    According to them: “FUTA is an established professional brand that is globally respected for technological innovations.

    “FUTA has also developed several domestic and international collaborations with other leading institutions.

    “These advances and relationship would be marred in an identity crisis by changing its established brand name on the whim of an individual.

    “Evidence abounds that previous name changes for purposes of immortalisation have done damage to institutions of higher learning than good and there is nowhere in the world that institutions of higher learning over five years old are abruptly renamed after the demise of a leader.”

    They argued that Harvard and Oxford have kept the same name since their creation and establishment, stressing these brands are globally respected and identifiable.

     

  • FUTA urges NCC to ensure better service, accurate data

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been urged to compel global service for mobile (GSM) communication service providers to improve the quality of service (QoS) on their networks so that subscribers could get the full value for the money spent on buying airtime.

    The Commission was also advised to keep data about the industry so that should the need arise, its regulator would be a ready data repertoire that other organisations could fall back upon.

    Speaking in Lagos during the Roundtable with Academia, Industry and other Stakeholders in the Southwest Regions organised by the NCC at the University of Lagos, the Ag, Head, Computer Engineering Department, School of Engineering Technology, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, Dr, Folasade M. Dahunsi, lamented that efforts to get data about the industry from the regulator was to no avail.

    She said in the absence of data from the regulator, what the university community did was to develop an application which was deployed to gauge the QoS of the telcos within the community.

    According to her, the data collated from the app showed that telecoms subscribers were far from enjoying the minimal acceptable service quality required.

    She also urged the regulator to urgently address the issue of local roaming of subscriber identity module (SIM) card so that whenever a subscriber gets to an environment that is not fully covered by a carrier, such a customer could roam so that he or she would not be completely shut out of the global world of information communications technology.

    Responding, one of the panelists,  Head, Regulatory Affairs at ntel, Olatunbosun Hambolu, said part of the challenges facing the telcos was access to foreign exchange to procure the requisite equipment to expand network capacity.

    He said all the equipment needed in the industry are sourced offshore, lamenting that when the naira/dollar exchange rate is put into consideration, then, it is plenty of problem for the telcos.

     

  • ASUU: OAU students confused as lecturers split on strike

    Students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife have been thrown into confusion following conflicting directives on the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) .

    The Branch Chairman of the union, Adeola Egbedokun, in an interview reiterated the stance of the national body that the strike is total.

    “The strike is total. No teaching, no exam, no statutory functions. We are not doing anything except observation of the National Body.

    “We hereby tell our students that we love them and we don’t want to lose any of them at the cause of anything that may happen during the industrial action”

    However, lecturers of same university under the Congress of Nigerian Universities Academic (CONUA) have vowed to continue the running of day to day activities in the school.

    “We can’t generally be part of what we are not privy to. We were not taken into consideration; we were approached on the issue. So, we can’t be part of the strike. Our members still respect statutory duties”, said Niyi Sunmonu, the chairman of CONUA.

    The national strike was declared on Sunday by ASUU national president, Biodun Ogunyemi after the National Executive Council meeting at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) in Ondo State.

    All academic staff of universities were directed to withdraw their services immediately.

    He disclosed that the strike became necessary due to failure

  • FUTA alumni to raise N1b yearly

    The Alumni Association of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State has set a target of N1 billion annually for its Trust Fund.

    Speaking during the inauguration of the FUTA Alumni Trust Fund Board, held at the Council Chamber of the Institution, President of the association, Comrade Adesomoju Olaitan, said the plan to raise N1billion annually is to ensure the institution sustains its culture of academic excellence in the global arena.

    He said the Institution’s quest for cutting edge research, teaching and community service needed to be properly funded, hence the intervention.

    “The Alumni Association is ready to galvanize our resources both at home and abroad, which is in tandem with our vision and aspiration for the development of our alma mater. Our target is to raise N1billion every year.  This will be used for infrastructural development and research endowment in the university,” Adesomoju said.

    In his address, the FUTA Vice-Chancellor, Prof Joseph Fuwape identified inadequate funding as one of the major challenges facing the institution.  He said funding to the university had drastically reduced in recent times forcing them to depend on the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and his administration’s probity and transparency.

    In his remarks, Patron of the association and founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola, who was represented by Deputy Vice-Chancellor, ABUAD, Prof Sylvester Ojo, urged all FUTA graduates gainfully employed to donate not less than 10 percent of their income to the fund.

  • FUTA teaches farmers to grow bigger tomatoes

    The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) has begun the extention of the cultivation of the new variant of tomatoes it developed to the larger society.

    FUTA, through its School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT), recently organised a Practical Field Training for selected farmers and agroprenurs on Greenhouse production of the Eva F1 tomatoes and other vegetables at the Teaching and Research Farm of the institution.

    The Eva F1 Tomato is five times bigger in size and can produce four times more paste than what is available in the market. Also, it has a shelf life of over two weeks from day of harvest.

    Highlighting practical steps for production of new variant of tomatoes in the Green House, the farm’s Chief Agricultural Superintendent, Mr. Mike Fadimiroye said the Green house ensures large production using a small area thus enhancing management of limited resources.

    He said the advantages of the Greenhouse include control of insect pests from accessing the crop, which is a part of integrated pest management strategy.

    Fadimiroye said the Greenhouse should be kept clean, sharp and hot objects kept out, and door always shut.

    He said soil analysis prior to farming would help the farmer decide on the best system of farming to adopt.

    Fadimiroye said the indeterminate variety of tomato such as EVA-F1 and Larisa mature in about two months in a green house  after transplanting, making it 90 days from nursery to maturity and harvesting could continue for another three months.

    Depending on good management, he said farmers could reap 1-2 tons of tomato in one production cycle.

    The Dean of the school, Prof Timothy Amos said the major goal of the school was to make significant contribution towards attaining food security in Nigeria.

    He said the Tomato Project was aimed at enabling farmers and citizens practice organic tomato farming and to guarantee the consumption of healthy, wholesome vegetables.

    FUTA farm Manager Mr. Olajide Adedayo said the Eva F1 seedling was sourced from Israel and carefully developed in FUTA’s Green House under controlled temperature.  Adedayo described the training of farmers to cultivate the new variety as the actualisation of the mandate of the University to put science to work for the society.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Joseph Fuwape, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Prof Philip Oguntunde, described the project as a right step in the right direction.

    He said the university must impact the lives of the community through appropriate transfer of knowledge. Fuwape said agriculture must take its place as the mainstay of the economy, especially when petroleum resources are fast dwindling.

    He urged the farmers to use their knowledge for benefit their lives and the society at large. He appealed to  governments, investors and institutions to partner the university to stimulate large-scale farming of the new variety of tomatoes and enhance its contributions to the economy, employment generation and spin off industries.

  • Behold FUTA whizzkids

    •Siblings invent electricity notification app

    Two brothers, Taslim and Abdulrahman Salaudeen, studying at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in Ondo State, have designed a mobile application that notifies users of the school’s electricity supply status. Their innovation is helping off-campus students to reduce the stress of trekking to the school in search of electricity, reports. DANIEL OLADELE (300-Level Forestry and Wood Technology).

    Erratic power supply remains the country challenge. All sectors experience the problem. The universities are not left out. But there is  charity news for students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA). Two of their colleagues have designed a mobile application to help the school out of its power challenge. Taslim and Abdulrahman Salaudeen’s innovation notifies users of the electricity supply status in the school at any given time.

    For off-campus students, this is a big relief. They no longer have to trek to school, only to find out that there is no light.

    The Salaudeens UpNepa  mobile is helping off-campus students to reduce the stress of  trekking to the school to check whether there is electricityor not.

    The app, which was released last month, has been accepted by students and it is on “full operation”. But its innovators  said they would not relent in making it better. When it was first released, the device was built to notify users about electricity status only. But, the inventors introduced updates, which make the app to show history of electricity in the school and notifies users of their colleagues using their devices in any location on the campus. The mobile application has also been equipped with an instant messaging service allowing users to communicate with ease.

    Students using the app described it as “special intervention”, hailing the siblings for easing their burden. To off-campus students, the device is a succour from the challenge of trekking to the school to charge their electronic devices.

    On how they conceived the innovation, Abdulrahman, who is staying in an off-campus hostel with his elder brother, said he heard about how students subjected themselves to stress of trekking to the school to charge their laptops and other mobile gadgets only to discover that there was no electricity on the campus.

    He said many would wait for hours in the hope that the light would be restored, but got their hope dashed after wasting time without being able to use electricity.

    Abdulrahman, a 200-Level Computer Engineering student, said: “I considered that a waste of time and energy for students. As a software developer, I pondered over new ideas to reduce the stress. That was the root of how this idea popped up in my head.”

    UpNepa has been gaining widespread acceptance among FUTA students. Abdulrahman noted that the success of the mobile application could be linked to its acceptability by the users.

    “Our users love it and they are happy to have a tool useful to them in their devices. We are glad it is helping them in some way,” he said.

    For those wondering how the application works, Abdulrahman said UpNepa is run through the aid of sensors planted on each of the school facility covered by the service.

    “The application automatically detects the status of electricity with the aid of sensors. The sensors detect electricity status at the location where they are planted and immediately send signals to the software through an online database.”

    Highlighting the roles he and his co-inventor played in the development of the software, Abdulrahman said he is in charge of the operations of the software.

    He said: “My role is the technical aspect of the project, which includes development of the mobile app and regular release of updated versions of the app. My partner, who happens to be my brother, handles legal issues and the business aspect of the software, but we do the general planning together.”

    Taslim, a 400-Level student of Department of Remote Sensing and Geology, said it had not been easy for them to maintain the users’ satisfaction and meeting their expectation.

    Timilehin Ayeni, a 300-Level student and user, was full of praises for the siblings, saying the application ahad helped him to plan his time.

    He said: “Most times after lectures, I always wait extra hours to charge my laptop and phones. By the time I feel like going back to my hostel in the town, I won’t be sure whether electricity has been restored or not.

    “But, with this application, I can check if there is light in my hostel or not. I can also find out how long the light has been restored. With this information, I can decide to go home if the condition is favourable for me. I don’t have to wait for hours in school when there is electricity in my hostel.”

    Also, Paul Eweola, who lives off-campus, said the intervention was timely, noting that the mobile application had saved him of energy.

    “Before now, whenever I felt like charging my gadgets, I would need to go to school to do this, but I usually didn’t have any idea whether there was electricity in the school or not. With the software, all I need to do is to log on UpNepa application. This gives me clear idea on whether there is electricity on campus or not, so as not to waste my time.”

    Outgoing speaker of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC), Chukwuma Kingsley, praised the brothers and urged the university to promote the mobile application, with the aim to improve academic rating of the school.

    He said: “This particular set of students has proven to be problem solvers with their innovative minds. I can only urge the management to take advantage of this innovation to promote the school and invest resources in the project to encourage more students.”

    The speaker highlighted challenges that could be solved by students’ innovation, saying the long queue usually experienced in banks whenever students are to pay their fees could be solved by encouraging student-innovators.

    He said: “Whenever the school resumes, we experience hours of long queues in banks to pay our school fees. I believe these students can bring innovative solution to solve this issue if the school encourages and invests in the mobile applications they have designed to make our life easy on campus.”

    Apart from UpNepa, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the siblings are also developing applications to ease processes on the campus.