VC: FUL to Establish Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Cyber Sciences, Secures N3bn TETFund Intervention

Ibrahim Oyewale  in Lokoja

The new Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Lokoja, Professor Gbenga Ibileye, has disclosed that  a total of N3 billion Tertiary Education Trust Fund TETFund  intervention has been secured for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Cyber Sciences.

Professor Ibileye made this known while speaking  during the 100-day celebration in office at the permanent site of institution, Felele in Lokoja yesterday.

He explained the Centre positions the university at the frontier of the technologies reshaping the global economy and will serve as a hub for advanced research, postgraduate training and high-value skills development for the institution and the wider region.

The Vice Chancellor noted that during the period under review, the Institution has achieved a lot, vowing to continue to maintain high academic standard  among Nigerian universities.

He explained that TETFund Annual Intervention and a N335 million NEEDS Assessment intervention have been secured, providing dedicated resources for infrastructure, academic facilities and the assessed priority needs of the university.

The Vice Chancellor noted that Special interventions of N700 million and N400 million from TETFund have been

committed to the upgrade of laboratories and classrooms, directly enhancing the teaching and research environment available to staff and students, noting that a  N300 million Zonal intervention by TETFund has also been secured in further support of the university’s special infrastructure

Also  a N3 billion Public-Private Partnership investment for the development of a model hotel – a project initiated under the previous administration – has been consolidated and decisively advanced, reflecting a deliberate strategy of pairing public funding with private capital to secure the university’s long-term financial sustainability.

He added that as the Federal University, Lokoja,  poises for academic advancement, full National Universities Commission accreditation has been secured for eight academic programmes – Mass communication, Computer science, Education Mathematics, Integrated Science, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Microbiology and Sociology, an outcome that strengthens the university’s academic standing and affirms the quality of its teaching, facilities and faculty.

“The pioneer cohort of the College of Health Sciences has passed the Basic Medical Examination and progressed to Basic Clinical Training. Upon completion of their programme, they are positioned to become the first generation of medical doctors trained entirely within Kogi State – a milestone of historic significance for the university and the state it serves.

“A Centre for Translational Humanities has been established – a visionary initiative that repositions humanities scholarship to address real-world social, cultural and developmental

challenges and affirms the administration’s commitment to research with measurable societal impact.

“The culture of inaugural and memorial lectures has been sustained, with the university hosting the 4th Engineer Joseph Oyeyani Makoju Memorial Lecture and maintaining its tradition of inaugural lectures as a celebration of scholarly attainment and intellectual life, Vice Chancellor posited .

He added the strategic partnerships have been advanced with Badr University and Cairo University in Egypt, the University of Pretoria, the University of Manitoba and Walter Sisulu University, as well as collaborative partnerships with several Colleges of Education – each conceived not as symbolic affiliation, but as a concrete channel for joint research, mobility, teacher development and capacity building.