By Olayiwola Lawal
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, says his University has renewed a number of partnerships with various viable organisations and unions to achieve its SMART Agenda.
Prof. Egbewole stated this on Saturday (March 23, 2024) at the annual Iftar/interactive session with journalists held at the Vice Chancellor’s official lodge.
“In recent times, the university has renewed partnerships with several associations, like the National Association of Commonwealth Universities, the National Association of Universities and several others in order to achieve the SMART Agenda” he said.
He added that the university needs more land as the university is currently in partnership with an agricultural firm known as Oriental Energy Farms, and hopefully the farm produce will be exported and the proceeds from it will be added to the internally generated revenue of the institution.
Professor Egbewole hinted that the infrastructural developments witnessed during the short time he assumed office completed the ones left behind by his predecessors.
According to him, the faculty of chemical engineering building sponsored by TETFUND was completed and commissioned; the Senate building entrance renovation, which was the gateway into the university; the new Moremi 200 bed spaces; and the ongoing College of Health 250 bed space, among others. With all these, the university believes that the welfare of students will be better taken care of.
Speaking on the university finacial status, the Vice Chancellor explained that University of Ilorin is not a revenue-generating outfit but an educational institution that awards degrees and a place where academic research is done.
According to him, “the University of Ilorin is not a revenue-generating outfit, and for as long as we push the idea that the university is generating revenue, the only thing the university does is charge for services such as hostels, identity cards, etc. For instance, the university spends between 100,000,000 and 130,000,000 on electricity monthly, and that amounts to billions at the end of the year when compared to the service charges. But in order to be a global player, the university must be self-sustaining by looking outside the box or without the box”.
Professor Egbewole also added that the University of Ilorin is committed to an uninterrupted academic calendar as the various unions present in the institution work seamlessly. While the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) are on strike, other unions are working. So, the university has responsible unions, and our primary concern is our students.
He said that only the library service hour during the exams changed from 24 hours to 10 hours. While the laboratory works, the management of the bursary unit never leaves their duties.
Prof. Egbewole however quipped that the university was able to achieve what it has not been able to do in the past seven years. The institution was able to add to its workforce by recruiting 201 academic and non-academic staff.
