The Nation Newspaper

Tag: University of Ilorin

  • 16 universities seeking partnership with SASSAKAWA on Agriculture

    16 universities seeking partnership with SASSAKAWA on Agriculture

    Prof. Sani Miko, Country Director, SASSAKAWA Global 2000, says no fewer than 16 universities are seeking partnership with the organisation to boost agriculture productivity in Nigeria.

    The country director made the disclosure while addressing participants at the ongoing two-day Stakeholders National Annual Review and Planning Workshop on the SASSAKAWA Global 2000 programme on Thursday in Zaria, Kaduna State.

    Miko said already, the organisation was working with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Bayero University Kano, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto and University of Ilorin among others.

    The country director appreciated Federal University Dutsinma, saying that it was the latest university to join the train.

    He said the partnership when formalised, would aid the propagation of technology dissemination to enhance production and ensure food security.

    Miko recalled that in 2001 the organisation found it difficult at the beginning to establish the programme at ABU, due to hurdles set by the National Universities’ Commission ( NUC ).

    Miko, however, expressed appreciation that the NUC had now accepted them, assuring that more universities were willing to join.

    “The NUC has accepted the programme and make it a nationally accredited funding programme and many universities are coming to show interest.

    “I think already, we have 16 universities that have written to us willing to join, I must appreciate Federal University Dutsinma, it is the latest university to join us.

    “And up till now that I am talking to you they have not receive a single dollar, all what they have done was done with their own resources,” he said.

    The country director said work was in progress to develop strategic plan that will be unveiled very soon.

    “We need inputs from you on how to develop our work plan, because SG2000 is not working in isolation. Whatever we do, we try to restrain our intervention into the national plan.

    “We want to know the successes recorded last year as well as the challenges you face and the way forward, so that all of you can look at it, criticize where necessary and recommend whether to drop or add some of the new ideas.

    “By the end of this workshop, we expect to leave this hall with agreed work plan, so that when we come to implement everybody feels the ownership.

    “Actually the draft work plan didn’t come from SG 2000, we did our own community assessment looking at the challenges of the farmers,” he said.

    He said the organisation prioritises the challenges and then decide certain intervention to address such challenges.

    NAN

  • Students group marks 35th anniversary

    Students group marks 35th anniversary

    As part of its 35th anniversary celebration, the Nigeria University Education Students Association (NUESA) University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) chapter, has unveiled the association’s programmes for the 2017/2018. They include fresher’s picnic, personality programme and NUESA week.

    A press briefing to announce the anniversary at the education lecture theatre also featured the launch of the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) located in the Faculty of Education.

    Fielding questions from reporters, the NUESA President, Comrade Muhammed Mustapha, said his administration has been working assiduously since assumption of office to  challenge transportation problems faced by the students.

    He expressed gratitude to the Dean Faculty of Education, Prof. N.B Oyedeji, NUESA staff adviser Dr. A.T Muritala, as well as the past presidents for their unflinching support to the association.

    In his opening remarks, Prof Oyedeji said the faculty had recorded great accomplishments since its establishment, producing graduates who are good ambassadors of the university. He urged the students to keep the flag flying.

    The university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Suleiman Age Abdulkareem,  represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Management Services),  Prof Adedayo Yusuf Abdulkareem said he was happy that despite numerous challenges, UNILORIN remained the most sought after institution by admission seekers over the last five years.  He pointed out, that the management has continued to fire from all cylinders so as to sustain the pace.

    “In terms of quality and number of students, Faculty of Education is the best,” he said, urging the students to maximise available resources on campus.

    Similarly, Sub Dean Students’ Affairs Unit Dr Alex Akanmu, said the unit was committed to the welfare of students. He condemned the abuse of social media by the students, saying the act does not project the image of the university positively.

    In his vote of thanks, NUESA director of publicity Ishaq Ishowo, thanked the university and faculty management, Students Affairs Unit, students, and others for honouring their invitation.

     

  • UNILORIN wins maiden West African debate competition

    The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) Debate Team has won the maiden edition of the Genesis Debate tournament held at the University of Ghana, Legon.

    The competition, which held between January 4 and 7, is an international open tournament with participants drawn from universities in Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritius.

    Other institutions that participated included: the University of Ghana, Legon; Covenant University, Ota; the University of Lagos; the Zenith University College, Accra; the Federal University of Technology, Akure; the Islamic University College, Accra; the University of Calabar; Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Accra; Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti;  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi; Africa Leadership University, Mauritius and  Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.

    The UNILORIN Debate Team was also awarded three of the top 10 speakers’ medals, and the Best Female Debater Award.

    Members of the Team Unilorin at the tournament were Omotayo Jimoh, Hawau Abikan and David Ejim. Also, a student of UNILORIN, Adekunbi Ademola, served as the Co-Chief Adjudicator of the competition.

  • Unilorin will not join strike – VC

    Unilorin will not join strike – VC

    The Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin ( UNILORIN ), Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, says in spite of the challenges posed by the ongoing nationwide non-academic staff strike and fuel crisis, the university will not join the strike.

    Abdulkareem made this assertion on Monday in Ilorin at a three-day unscheduled visit to the various faculties of the university to monitor the ongoing registration of fresh students.

    Speaking at the Faculty of Physical Sciences, the vice-chancellor said his administration was determined to work for a near seamless take-off of academic activities.

    He said the ongoing strike of the non-academic staff was a challenge to everybody.

    The vice-chancellor said he had made several visits to Abuja to sort-out delays in the payment of earned allowances of both the academic and non- academic staff.

    Read also: Imafidon and Unilorin

    He noted that today his efforts were yielding fruits, adding that the goal of the University was to ensure academic stability, so that students graduate at the right time.

    Abdukareem commended all the staff of the University for keeping the academic calendar running in spite of fuel crisis pains and ongoing nationwide non-academic strike.

    He said the university administration recognised the authorities of the labour unions both locally and nationally, and would desire obedient workers who recognise and reference authorities no matter how inconvenient.

    He however, noted that peace would soon be restored in the education sector.

    “But while negotiations are ongoing, let’s go the extra mile to keep our calendar running,” he pleaded.

    In his remarks, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Technology and Innovation), Prof. Gabriel Olatunji, who was also, among the team that visited the faculties, suggested that faculties should adapt to the current challenges.

    Olatunji further suggested that the Faculty of Agriculture should split the registration centres to five in order to reduce the long queues observed at the faculty.

    He also advised that it was possible to screen fresh students using youth corps members and PhD students and thus stick to the academic registration deadlines despite non-availability of some workers.

    The Dean of Agriculture, Prof Kola Joseph, listed delays in uploading registration courses by level advisers; delays in clearing students from Central Admission Office and poor internet connectivity as the challenges facing the faculty.

    Others are shortage of manpower and paucity of funds among others. He urged the university management to send more officers to assist the faculty in the registering of the students.

    NAN

  • 29 bag 1st Class at August 2017 law exams – DG

    29 bag 1st Class at August 2017 law exams – DG

    The Nigerian Law School on Tuesday said 29 out of the 4,294 candidates called to the Nigerian Bar bagged First Class after the August 2017 bar examinations.

    The Director-General of the school, Mr Olanrewaju Onadeku (SAN) disclosed this at the Call-to-Bar ceremony in Abuja.

    Onadeku said the students were those successful at the August 2017 Bar final examinations and others from previous examinations as conducted by the school under the supervision of the Council of Legal Education.

    He said the 29 students were produced by the University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Uyo, Obafemi Awolowo University, Babcock University, University of Ibadan and Osun State University.

    According to him, others are from University of Ilorin, Lagos State University, Ambrose Alli University, Afe Babalola University, Adekunle Ajasin University and Igbinedion University.

    “I particularly commend the 29 students; theirs is the highest number ever attained.

    “They have worked hard to merit their grades after a very thorough assessment and have done the Nigerian Law school and their families proud.”

    Onadeku disclosed that 72 per cent success was achieved after the August examination as 211 obtained the second class upper grade, 1,046 made second class lower division and 3, 000 got the pass grade.

    He said that there had been a sustained level of focus and diligence among the students whom he noted had demonstrated a commendable sense of maturity and drive,  adding that some were involved in various forms of examination malpractices.

    The Director-General, while congratulating the newly called to lawyers, also urged them to make the best of the legal profession.

    “Since it is your freewill to belong to the noble profession of law, you must ensure strict adherence to its norms and ethics.

    “As you are aware, globalisation has impacted on the legal profession with the challenge of bench marking on minimum international best practices.

    “You must ensure you exceed the minimum in all that you do. ”

    Onadeku also noted that the successful students had completed the vocational training at the school as prescribed by the Legal Education Act.

    According to him, they have also met all other conditions set by the Council, while also exhibiting good manners and decorum during their training.

    “They have also been groomed in the best ethics and ethos of our noble profession.

    Read also: Law school gets luxury hostel

    “The screening committee of your distinguished body has carefully perused the records of each of the aspirants and have found them worthy to be presented for Call to the Nigerian Bar.

    “I attest that they are fit and proper persons for Call and admissions to the Nigerian Bar,” he said.

    In his address, the Chairman of the Body of Benchers and also Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, charged the candidates to practice the profession with diligence and sense of responsibility.

    He charged them to promote the course of justice and rule of law, adding that their level of proficiency was of immense significance to the efficiency of the justice system of the country.

    “I urge you to acquaint yourselves with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and all other relevant laws as far as administering justice is concerned.

    “You must not handle a matter without adequate preparation, neither should you handle a matter, which you know or ought to know that you not competent enough to handle.

    “It is advisable to consult your seniors or colleagues in areas you know you are not well groomed, ” he said.

    Onnoghen said that the Body of Benchers, whose role also includes disciplinary committee, would not hesitate to bring to order any erring practitioner whose conduct might negate the standards of the profession.

     The Nigerian Law School has to date graduated 117, 385 lawyers including all the judges of the superior courts of the country and almost all the legal practitioners.

    The event was attended by past and present Body of Benchers, Attorney-General of the Federation, past Directors-General of the school.

    Others are members of the National Assembly, some ministers, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in the Judiciary sector.

    NAN

  • N23b: UNILORIN ASUU accuses Fed Govt of partiality

    N23b: UNILORIN ASUU accuses Fed Govt of partiality

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Kwara State,has said that  the Federal Ministry of Education and its parastatals have been hijacked by the national ASUU.

    The teachers were aggrieved that they were left out of the N23 billion Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) released last week to members of  ASUU) in partial fulfilment of the agreement between the union and the Federal Government.

    ASUU traced the latest development to alleged unholy alliance between the national ASUU and the ministry.

    Speaking with reporters in Ilorin, Kwara State, over the development, chairman of the university’s branch of the union, Dr Usman Adebimpe, was surprised that teachers who did not go on strike for 18 years were being deprived of an allowance meant to compensate those who worked while their counterparts who were perennially on strike were being paid.

    The UNILORIN ASUU leader, who revealed that he had been under severe pressure from members for about a week now, asked the National Assembly to wade into the matter immediately to forestall a situation where members of the branch would be pushed to the wall. He, however ruled out strike as an option by the union to press home its demand.

    Adebimpe, whose faction is not recognised by the national body, said: “After so many attempts at frustrating us and brining us to their fold by force and not by dialogue, they now found an ally in the Federal Ministry of Education. As I talk to you now, the Federal Ministry of Education has been taken over by ASSU national. I know I am on record. Everywhere is now being controlled by ASUU national.

    “To the extent that they now dictate who should be given the Federal Government approved earned academic allowance. So they shared N23 billion to ASUU by the Federal Government and they excluded two universities, ASUU of UNILORIN and ASUU of UNN and the excuse they gave when we began to fire from several angles was that it was because what we submitted was faulty.

    “And we told them that it was a coincidence that the two universities that did not go on strike were the two universities that also submitted what they called faulty documentation and to the extent that to date nobody got to know about it.

    “We have petitioned the President, the Senate President and the Speaker, House of Representatives. We are saying that the minister would be told that our members actually worked and they are the ones who actually qualified for the allowance because we actually earned it but the minister is now giving it to people who didn’t work so it is more or less a strike allowance.

    “If that is the moral, we will not complain because we would not spoil the efforts we have been making since 2001. But since it is tagged earned allowance, and our members were working then, not now, but for the past 18 years, unbroken, I do not know who is a better earner of that allowance.

    “Even if they now pay me tomorrow I have been traumatised, like my other colleagues. If we must continue in this order, then we have to seek protection from the public against the antics of the Federal Ministry of Education and their cohorts.

    “Our members are demoralised; they have been mounting pressure on us because they have been working for nine years graduating students at each session and yet they are the ones now to be denied this allowance. If things are not handled properly, only God knows what will happen because we may not be able to control them.

    “Their intention is that we did not go on strike so we must be punished but we would not be pushed into that because otherwise we would have yielded to their call and lost the 18 year record we have now.”

  • UNILORIN, UNILAG record highest pass rates in bar exam

    The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) has emerged the university with the best performance in the Bar Final Examination of the Nigerian Law School held in August.

    The result of the examination released by the Council for Legal Education last week showed 94.9 per cent of UNILORIN Law graduates passed the examination – narrowly beating the University of Lagos to second position with 93.9 percent pass rate.

    In all, 29 students made first class in the examination according to a university-by-university performance analysis of the examination published in the current edition of The Nigeria Lawyer journal.

    Some 211 had Second Class Upper grade,1,046 made Second Class Lower grade, 3,000 got  the Pass grade, 333 had conditional pass, 1,272 failed while 33 were absent.

    Though UNILORIN had the best cumulative results for the candidates, UNILAG had the highest number of students with First Class grades (six compared to UNILORIN’s one).

    The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNILAG), with four students, followed UNILAG  with the second highest number of First Class grades.

    The Osun State University (UNIOSUN), which recorded the third best cumulative pass rate of 91.8 per cent, also had two students with the First Class grade.

    In his reaction to the feat, the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Dr. K. I. Adam, described it as “the fruit of great academic excellence for which our University is widely reputed”.

     

  • ‘New JAMB rules delay UNILORIN admission list’

    ‘New JAMB rules delay UNILORIN admission list’

    The Chairman, University of Ilorin ( UNILORIN ) Admissions Committee, Prof. O. T. Mustapha, has told candidates seeking admission into the university that its management was addressing the delay in the release of the 2017/2018 admission list.

    Mustapha’s appeal for calm was reported by the UNILORIN Bulletin following anxiety caused by the delay in concluding the admission exercise.

    He said though the university had completed the selection process, the admission list was being delayed by the newly-introduced Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    “As far as the university admission is concerned, at the university level, we are already through with the short-listing. But the new system introduced by JAMB requires that when you are through with admissions, instead of going to Abuja to mark the admitted candidates manually, you have to do it electronically. This time around, we tried as much as possible to do that, but we have encountered some challenges with internet services, particularly when we tried to upload the list of our admitted candidates, which is very bulky.

    “They will have to be calm. Nobody is trying to jeopardize the process. It is just a small problem and I don’t think that it is insurmountable. We will definitely overcome it. We are just worried about its effect on the academic calendar. So, we are working round the clock to correct this. We are concerned. We are trying our best. We have not been folding our arms. In fact, we are thinking of moving to another location where the strength of the internet facility would be enhanced.”

    Mustapha complained that the low capacity of the university’s internet facilities was caused by external providers.

    “Once we have enhanced internet facilities, and if probably, JAMB can strengthen its own bandwidth, I think the problem will stop,” he said.

    Read Also: JAMB goes tough on ‘fraudulent’ CBT centres

  • Don warns female against indecent dressing

    Don warns female against indecent dressing

    A Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Ilorin, Hashir Abdulsalam, said on Wednesday that parents and guardians have a crucial role to play in curbing indecent dressing among female children in the society.

    Abdulsalam said this during a prayer service held at Hilal Crescent Mosque, Ilorin, in commemoration of his elevation to the professorial rank.

    He said parents and guardians have a crucial role to play in curbing moral decadence that had assumed an alarming dimension in the country.

    He warned girls and women at large to desist from nude-dressing and indecent dressing.

    According to him, parents and guardians should give special attention to the upbringing of their children, regardless of their busy schedule.

    The don observed that the growing trends in nude-dressing were due to peer influences and this had contributed largely to indecent dressing in the society.

    “I had an experience at the University of Ilorin when I was a Sub-Dean, Faculty of Arts.

    “A lady came to my office almost half
    naked and I told her to get away from my office but later on, I counselled her.

    “This girl, however, changed her way of dressing after I counselled her on the dangers of exposing her self through immoral dressing,” he said.

    The don appealed to parents to work harder and ensure that they gave their children proper training so that they could show the beauties of Islam.

  • Uninterrupted academic calendar sacrosanct – UNILORIN VC

    Uninterrupted academic calendar sacrosanct – UNILORIN VC

    Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin ( UNILORIN ), Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, said that the uninterrupted academic calendar of the institution he described as the hallmark of the University, remained sacrosanct.

    Abdulkareem said this on Wednesday while presiding over the first Senate meeting of UNILORIN.

    He solicited the support of the university Senate in his mission to move the institution to greater heights.

    The vice-chancellor promised to sustain and improve on the tempo of progress witnessed in the university and build on the achievements of successive administration of the institution.

    In his address, entitled “Your Support is Our Victory’’, Abdulkareem said the continued stability of the university was sacrosanct.

    “We have enjoyed it for the past 17 years and it has given us an image that draws the largest number of admission seekers within and outside our country to us.

    “It is one of the identities that make us different and better than the others in Nigeria,’’ the UNILORIN Vice Chancellor said.

    According to him, the continued stability of this great university remains non-negotiable.

    The vice-chancellor said he was committed to championing the drive toward ensuring that the university becomes more reputable for research outputs, which could change the world for the better.

    “This is achievable if we have a renewed energy, devotion, faith, attitude and ethos that can rekindle our unique UNILORIN spirit for attaining greater heights.’’

    He said that he was committed to the promotion of staff and students’ welfare as well as sustaining the infrastructure development of the university.

    The vice-chancellor also mentioned strategies which he intended to adopt over the next five years.

    He said his administration was committed to re-orientation of staff for improved productivity, students’ attitude and commitment toward academic excellence and promotion of healthy as well as effective collaboration, among others.