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Tag: National University Commission (NUC)

  • Love, unity antidote to insecurity, says cleric

    The pastor and spiritual head of Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Nigeria, Rev. Emmanuel Oshoffa, has said the prevailing kidnappings and wanton destruction of lives in the country are due to lack of love among the people.

    He said as long as people remain vengeful, the country would continue to wallow in pains and anarchy.

    Oshoffa, who spoke at this year’s Adult Harvest Anniversary of the church, said Nigerians must learn to forgive and move closer to God in prayer, to be able to forge ahead in the face of the country’s current security problems.

    He said: “We are in this quagmire because we have gone far away from God. We have embraced sin and wallow in acts that constitute threat to humanity.

    “As a way out, we should learn to forgive; we should not pay evil for evil. When you are provoked, you must forgive before dusk. It is only God that can take vengeance; we should not allow Satan to have dominion over our lives.”

    On the need to establish the church’s own university, the cleric said the church’s pastors-in-council recently met with the National University Commission (NUC) on its proposed Celestial International University to finalise talks.

    He said the church needed N24 million to enable it to submit its application for the proposed university, noting that 320 hectares of land had been acquired at Imeko, Ogun State for the project.

    According to him, the CCC was desirous of contributing to the development of knowledge and humanity.

    He added that the land the church acquired at Imeko was a donation by the traditional ruler of the community, stressing that that well-meaning Nigerians and church members were encouraged to make their contributions to the success of the project.

    He said: “To start a university in Nigeria needs several millions of naira. We are going to open an account for the project and we encourage our members to contribute to the success of the institution.

    “So far, we have been able to raise N8.4 million; we still need about N17 million to enable the church to submit its forms as quickly as possible. We shall be issuing statements as the need arises and the name of donors made public.

    “There will be meetings of parishes to commit them to the plans. Those to be part of the meetings will be chairmen, secretaries and treasurers of the parishes,” he said.

  • ‘Govt. will tackle farmers/herders clashes by end of this year’

    The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbe has revealed that the problem of farmers/herders clash will be contained by the end of this year, if all the mechanisms government is building locally are put in place.

    Ogbe made this known while delivering a lecture on Wednesday on: Technology and Agricultural Revolution: A tool for economic growth’, organised by Catholic Brothers United (CBU) of St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos.

    According to the Minister, the mechanisms entails government providing enough feeds for cattle from agro waste, rice stocks, cassava leaves, maize, among others. “We are determined to bring the crisis to an end”, he said.

    Read Also: National security: How to end farmers/ herders’ clashes

    Ogbe also revealed that government is partnering with Federal universities of Agriculture, in collaboration with the National University Commission (NUC), to make their graduates employers of labour by engaging in agriculture after graduation.

    His words “We the older generations must begin to hand over power to the younger generation; I know that the demand today is the political power transfer to youths, but there is much more power in the private sector than the government; because the private sector is the driver of growth”, said Ogbe.

    On his part, the Group Managing Director of Elephant Group, Tunji Owoeye, commended the government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee for the reduction in the interest rate for  the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

    The CBU 19th Annual lecture according to the President Catholic Brothers United, Emmanuel Okoro was carefully chosen in consideration of the various developmental challenges currently facing the country.

    “Agriculture has been the an important sector in the Nigerian economy in the past decades and continue to be a major sector despite the oil boom as it guarantees food security, employment opportunities for the teeming population, among others”

  • Varsity Don charges newly licensed universities on mentoring

    Varsity Don charges newly licensed universities on mentoring

    Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka has warned that newly licensed institutions that failed to take mentoring from older institutions are likely to run a trial and error basis and reinvent the wheel.

    He gave the warning while playing host to the Presiding Bishop, Sword of Spirit Ministries, Bishop Francis Wale Oke who led other top management staff and officials of the newly licensed Precious Cornerstone University (PCU), Ibadan to his office.

    The UI VC while lauding the visitors for heeding the directive of the National University Commission (NUC) to allow the UI mentor the PCU noted that the UI has all that it takes to guide the new institution aright and help it avoid the challenges and obstacles it had summoned in time past.

    He said, “We are fully disposed to being the mentor of the newly established Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, Nigeria. It is our greatest pleasure to be the mentor of the university because we know the university has a lot of potentials and we are prepared to assist them in every way possible either in the human capacity building, governance or in other capacities.

    “Some institutions have failed to make themselves available for mentoring as directed by the NUC but such institutions would only be running on trial and error basis because UI has the experience of 70 years behind us. We have made mistakes and we have also made a lot of achievements over the years. So, the idea is for us to be able to leverage on the advantages and the achievements that we have recorded over the last 70 years and there is no point reinventing the wheel.

    “For the Precious Cornerstone University, we will let them know the good practices and the bad practices as well because we are not expected to dictate to them as that is not the intention of the National University Commission when they directed that we should be their mentor. It is just to assist them. The directive does not make the newly founded institution a subsidiary to us but I think the PCU has started on a very good note.”

    Earlier in his remarks, Bishop Oke said the institution was very excited when UI was selected as the mentor, which he described as the social responsibility arm of the church pointing out that UI was a trusted and capable hand to help the new institution become world class in line with the vision of the church.

    “We are very glad that the premier university in Nigeria is the one to mentor us. They have the resources, the capacity and the experience that we can offer and tap into and we will tap into it maximally.

    “Our expectation is that UI will give us matured guiding, they will be involved in the governing council meeting and the appointment principal officers and genuine governance of the university. Our vision is to have a world-class university and one of the criteria for that is good governance of the university.

    The church will not get involved in the governance; we will just provide the vision, the direction, and the resources. We will leave the governance in the hands of the qualified and competent professionals who know how to govern a university. That is one of the areas which we will rely on the competence and wealth of experience of UI to ensure that the stability in governance and that PCU is governed according to world class standard to get a world class result”, the cleric said.

    On the entourage of Bishop Oke, who doubles as the promoter of the newly licensed institution was his wife, Dr. Victoria Oke, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Gen. Oladayo Popoola (retired), the institution Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing  Council, Dr. Bayo Adegoke, Chairman, Strategic Implementation Committee, Prof. Timothy Adejumo and other management staff.

     

  • Dickson applauds accreditation of 10 courses in NDU

    Dickson applauds accreditation of 10 courses in NDU

    Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has applauded the leadership of the state-owned Niger-Delta University (NDU) for securing full accreditation of 10 courses by the National University Commission (NUC).

    Dickson made the commendation when the Acting Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, presented to the governor the NUC’s 2017 May/June Accreditation report in Yenagoa.

    Dickson said in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, on Thursday in Yenagoa, that the government had released N200 million to enhance academic activities in the institution.

    He said he had directed the vice chancellor to liaise with the state Ministry of Education for the release of the balance of N21 million.

    “This government will spare no effort and resources, working with the university team, to ensure that NDU becomes one of the best universities in the country.”

    Dickson urged students seeking admission into universities in the country, to consider NDU, adding that the state government would continue to support the school to enhance learning.

    Earlier, while presenting the report, Edoumiekumo said the accreditation of 10 programmes was a feat in the institution’s history.

    According to him, some of the accredited courses are Law, Medical Laboratory Science and Mechanical Engineering.

  • Expert advises FG to fight corruption with statistics

    Expert advises FG to fight corruption with statistics

    Dr Olusanya Olubusoye, 2nd Vice President, Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA) has advised the Federal Government to fight corruption by the use of statistics.

    Olubusoye gave the advice on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He said that the use of statistics would give detailed successes recorded in the fight against corruption and other social vices in the country.

    “We are yet to value statistics; why is it that we are fighting corruption and we are not successful? Why is it that we are fighting crime and we are not successful?

    “Other countries are using statistics to fight those social menaces; they are using statistics to fight hunger, illiteracy, they are using it to fight outbreak of epidemic.

    “So, without statistics, you are fighting corruption? You are not successful because you are fighting an evil you have not measured.’’

    He explained that statistics was important in determining the success of any project.

    “Why are we not measuring corruption every year or on quarterly basis? Measure corruption in the ministries; measure corruption in Police; measure corruption in Immigration and measure corruption in Port Authority.

    “Have our own index and measure it and then release those indices, just like National University Commission (NUC) will release ranking of Universities.

    “ Let us have the release every month and know which agency of the government is most corrupt. That way you will be fighting corruption

    “For purpose of illustration, if you rank Immigration as the most corrupt government agency this month, everybody will wake up.’’

    He called for more budgetary allocation to the offices of statistics in various MDA’s for capacity building as well as trainings within and outside the country.

    “This world is a village, you cannot be in isolation. You can’t practice your own statistics in your own small room. There is a global standard; there is a global practice and best practices.

  • KWASU produces 32 First Class graduates

    KWASU produces 32 First Class graduates

    Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Moro local government area, will on Saturday this week produce 32 First Class graduates out of a total of 1,010 graduating students in its fifth graduation year.
    Speaking with reporters yesterday in Malete,  the Vice chancellor of the university, Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, said that 496 graduates bagged second class upper credit, 376 graduates had second class lower credit, while 64 graduates were awarded third class.
    Prof NaAllah explained that high number of First Class graduates was occasioned by quality academic learning and environment, saying that some HND graduates who pursued university degrees were among the graduates.
    The vice chancellor, who said that the university had become the first institution to be accredited and approved to award degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering by the National University Commission (NUC), said that the accreditation would lead to further development and growth in the country.
    He also said that the commencement of the course in the university would soon lead to establishment of Space Research Centre on the campus, adding that it would help the country in aviation, engineering building and design.
    He said that the university had sustained quality education and research despite increase in number of students and effects of global recession on its activities.
    He said that a total of N11.7 million was approved in March this year, and presented to members of academic staff as grants and funds to pursue research in such areas as environmental science, Shea butter tree, organic fertiliser, cowpea varieties, moringa for fertiliser among other areas.
    He added that the convocation lecture would be delivered by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi,  Ojaja I, on Friday.
    He added that the royal father would talk on Practical Entrepreneurship: Leeway to Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth.
  • NUC to upgrade FRSC academy to degree awarding institution

    NUC to upgrade FRSC academy to degree awarding institution

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Academy in Udi, Enugu State, is to be upgraded to a degree awarding institution, the FRSC Corps Marshal, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, has said.
    Oyeyemi said this in Owerri on Friday after a meeting with Prof. Francis Eze, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
    He said that the National University Commission (NUC) had allowed the FRSC academy to be affiliated to the university as a prerequisite for the upgrading.
    The corps marshal said the meeting was to seek FUTO’s consent on the programme.
    He said that the FRSC might start with post graduate diploma programme and latter advance to masters degree.
    “We are here on the directive of the NUC Executive Secretary in order to meet with its requirements to upgrade our institution.
    “We have chosen to affiliate with your institution because we know that FUTO is among the best institutions in the nation offering transport-related causes,” he said.
    Oyeyemi said that the NUC also wanted FRSC to run programmes in Sociology, Psychology and ICT aside from Transport Management Technology.
    He said structures and facilities were on ground to kick start the programme and urged the university to give them the necessary support to enable them get the NUC accreditation.
    Eze said FUTO was ready, saying that: “we will give you all support to succeed in your plans because I know that it will enhance human capacity development”.
    According to him, FUTO is the first institution to offer Transport Management Technology and also run programmes in Psychology and Sociology.
    Eze assured Oyeyemi that management of the institution would do everything possible to see that the affiliation commenced next academic section.
    A technical committee was set up by the vice chancellor comprising senior FRSC staff and top management staff of FUTO to be chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics, Prof. Okoro Ogbobeme, to work out memorandum of understanding on the affiliation.

  • NUC accredits six undergraduate courses in Landmark University – VC

    NUC accredits six undergraduate courses in Landmark University – VC

    Prof. Aize Obayan, Vice-Chancellor of Landmark University, Omu-Aran, says the National University Commission (NUC) has accreditation six undergraduate courses in the institution.

    Obayan told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Omu-Aran on Thursday, that the NUC letter conveying the approval of the courses was received by the management on April 3..

    She disclosed that the approval was the fall out of NUC team’s visit to the institution for the November/December 2016 accreditation when the courses were presented.

    Obayan listed the accredited courses and programmes as Computer Science, Economics, Biochemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Sociology.

    She further said that the approval was significant, showing clear demonstration of the success of the exercise for an institution that had penchant for best academic practices.

    The vice-chancellor also attributed the feat to God’s faithfulness upon the institution as well as the exemplary leadership style of its Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Regent, Dr David Oyedepo.

    She said the courses which were highly rated by the NUC would be for five years.

    Obayan also said other courses such as Accounting, Banking and Finance as well as five other engineering programmes had also been given full professional accreditation status by ICAN and COREN respectively.

    “Recently, the Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) conferred full accreditation status on the institution’s Computer Science programme”.

    The vice-chancellor reiterated the commitment of the institution to pursue an agrarian revolution drive toward attaining sustainable agriculture production in fighting poverty and unemployment.

    Obayan, who commended members of staff and students of the institution for their dedication and cooperation toward achieving the feat, promised that the university would maintain high level of academic performance.

  • Vice-Chancellor laments underfunding of research in tertiary institutions

    Prof. John Adesiji Olorunmaiye, the Vice-Chancellor, Crown Hill University, Ilorin, on Wednesday identified underfunding of research in tertiary institutions as the bane of science and technology development in the country.

    “The research grants provided by the Tertiary Education TrustFund (TETFUND) are grossly inadequate to meet the country’s innovation demands.

    “There is also a need for government to provide enough research grants for researchers to access.

    “The need for the country to develop its technology locally to produce what the people consume instead of largely depending on foreign goods cannot be over emphasised,’’ he said.

    Olorunmaiye advocated for better funding of Nigerian universities to meet the purpose for their establishment and to be able to adapt to new technologies.

    Expressing dismay with the industrial sector for not turning academic researches into laboratory use, he urged them not to allow these researches lie fallow in the archives of tertiary institutions.

    The don also called on government to enhance and improve the country’s infrastructural development to create an enabling environment for local industries to grow.

    He further urged the Federal Government to mandate commercial banks to provide long-term loans at single interest rate for investors to promote local businesses.

    The vice-chancellor said that Crown Hill University was established to meet the people’s higher education demands and to commit to teachings, research and community development.

    Olorunmaiye said the National University Commission (NUC) had approved 15 academic programmes for the university to commence the 2016/2017 session.

    He added that the University of Ilorin had been chosen as its mentor.

     

  • Kano varsity to produce 39 first class graduates

    Kano varsity to produce 39 first class graduates

    Vice Chancellor of Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), Prof. Shehu Alhaji Musa Thursday said the institution is set to graduate 39 First Class degree holders in various disciplines in its forthcoming 4th convocation ceremony slated to hold on February 4 ,2017.

    In a pre-convocation press briefing, Musa stated that convocation will witness a combination of three sets, totaling 3,212 graduates across the 27 programmes of the university.

    The Vice Chancellor further stated that all the 27 Courses in the university have gotten full accreditation from the National University Commission (NUC), pointing out that the University will soon commence its Doctorate Degree programme in Agro-Economics, Geography, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

    Musa also said that the University Senate has approved additional 12 academic courses, adding that the University is also set to run Interim Jamb Matriculation Board (IJMB) for 1000 students, pre-degree and remedial programmes.

    Speaking on the line-up of activities for the Convocation Musa said the occasion will start with a pre-convocation lecture with the theme “Skipping the Steps in the Transformation of Nigerian Agriculture,” to be delivered by a world-acclaimed Professor of Agro-Economics from the United States of America, Prof. Jess Lowenberg-Debour.

    The Vice Chancellor said the University will also honour the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi 11, first civilian governor Kano state, the late Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi and a renowned educationist, Alhaji Mustapha Ibrahim with Honourary Doctorate degrees, for their immense contributions to humanity, education and the betterment of the society.

    The university don, however, expressed appreciation to the Visitor of the university and governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for his unflinching support to the growth and development of the institution.