The Federal Government said it is setting things in motion to resolve the lingering power and water challenges in the Federal University of Transportation Daura, Katsina State.
The Minister of Transportation Sa’idu Alkali, who stated this after inspecting facilities at the university, disclosed that plans to connect the school to the national grid were on the way.
He further stated that the government was also working to find a lasting solution to the water challenge, expressing optimism that after tackling the challenges, learning experience will be made easy for the students.
He expressed hope that the university would record significant growth and expansion following its enlistment as a beneficiary of interventions of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“I observed that there are lots of challenges, especially water and electricity. I have spoken with the contractor and to God be the glory, we have extracted commitment from the contractor; CCECC that the university will be connected to the national grid. We will also find a lasting solution to the water problem,” he said.
He added that he has the backing of the president to ensure that projects and contracts he inherited in the ministry are seen to the end.
“When I took over as the Minister of Transportation, I was directed by President Bola Tinubu, to continue with all the existing contracts, not only to continue but to sustain the contracts with the Ministry of Transportation,” he said.
Alkali noted that with the assistance and collaborations of the Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, TETFund and others, he has been able to achieve considerable progress.
“After my appointment, I went out for an inspection tour of all the railway projects in the ministry. I came to the Federal University of Transportation Daura, which was constructed by CCECC Nigeria Limited, our contractor in the ministry as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.
“When I came I met a very beautiful edifice but unfortunately, only a Vice-Chancellor was appointed and the standard for any university is that it should have a Vice Chancellor, bursar, librarian and registrar.
“I approached the National Universities Commission (NUC), to appoint a mentor university for us so that they will be able to start admissions against the 2023/2024 academic year. The NUC appointed Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) to mentor the Federal University of Transportation Daura.
“Another challenge we had then, was that the university was not captured in the federal government 2023 appropriation year, so I approached CCECC to raise some funding for us as a quick means so that it will give us support to start academic activities against 2023/2024,” he said.
He explained that the university was not captured in the Federal Government’s 2023 appropriation, but President Tinubu approved the institution to be included in the 2024 appropriation.
He expressed satisfaction over the level of progress adding that after the accreditation, the school admitted over 500 students enrolled in over 14 disciplines.