Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
Almost one year after President Muhammadu Buhari announced the renaming of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti after the former Governor of the old Western Region, late Major Gen Adeyinka Adebayo, the authority has expressed concerns at the delay in effecting the pronouncement.
Gen Adebayo, the father of the fist executive governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, died last year March 9, after a brief illness.
The authority reminded the federal government on the stalemate created by the delay and urged it to expedite action to effect the policy.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Kayode Soremekun at the 8th matriculation ceremony of the university held at the weekend, said many of the students and their parents, including other stakeholders had been asking questions as to what was delaying action on it.
He said authorities of the institution had taken a number of actions, including writing letters of reminder to the appropriate quarters, and that there were assurances that the federal government would soon follow-up in its promise to rename the university.
The Federal government, had in May, 2017, through the then acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo pledged to rename the school as “Adeyinka Adebayo Federal University”, in honour of the late general.
Soremekun said a total of 5,377 fresh students that were newly matriculated into the institution, out of the many that applied for admission, was a sign that the university was ahead of others established at the same time.
He urged them shun cultism by facing their studies squarely and refused to be influenced by people of shady characters.
“Though we are a young and growing university, we are on track for accelerated growth, development and excellent achievements
“We have also commenced school of Post Graduate Studies since January 2018 with the National Universities Commission, (NUC) given us approval to run 27 programmes while in our undergraduate level, 45 programmes already have full accreditation status out of the 49 programmes. We are also unwavering in our resolve to make the university a household name in the nation’s education sector”, he said.
According to him, the institution is currently the only federal university operating multi campus system at both Oye Ekiti and Ikole Ekiti, and that it had moved from its initial 512 students in 2011, to 12,163 in 2018.
“We have moved from four faculties and 29 departments to seven faculties and 49 departments. As I speak, Law and Pharmacy is starting soonest, faculty of Basic Medical Sciences is also about to start
“Our drive to make the university a huge construction centre will receive a boost in the coming months so as to add to the current speed of physical infrastructural development on campus” he said.
