Nsukka Today

The committee Chairman, Sen. Uche Chukwumereje, made the commendation during the committee’s oversight visit to the institution on Saturday.

During the visit, the team inspected the International Scholar Village, Ifeanyi  Uba Data Network Centre , new Pharmacy complex,  new postgraduate building and UNESCO Category  2  International Centre for Biotechnology

Chukwumereje said that the transformation in UNN was eloquent testimony that good leadership was a catalyst for achieving speedy development.

``We are impressed on the level of transformation in UNN. It shows that Federal Government grants to the university are well utilised.

``UNN at last is coming back to its former glory as one of the first generation universities in the country,’’ he said.

The chairman said the committee was impressed that  most of the projects were  being funded by the private sector.

``For the university to attract such huge capital project funding from the private sector, it speaks volumes of its good image to the public.

``I urge other VCs of various universities to emulate the commitment of UNN in attracting funding from the private sector rather than waiting for government to fund all the projects.

``Because of this outstanding performance, the committee will do its best to ensure that more money is appropriated to UNN to enable the management to do more,’’ he said.

In a remark, Okolo, pleaded with the committee to assist in the increment of  the monthly overhead funding of the university.

He said that the present N18 million monthly allocation to the university was grossly inadequate.

``UNN pays a monthly bill of about N27 million to PHCN, while about N17 million  is used to buy diesel monthly for both Nsukka and Enugu campus.

``If not for internally generated revenue, paying staff salary and other expenses could have been impossible.

``If government wants universities to achieve academic excellence, it should adequately fund universities,’’ he said

Okolo, however,  expressed appreciation to the private sector and international agencies for partnering with the university.

He pledged that his administration would continue to ensure that every N1 given to the  university would be judiciously used.

Okolo said that the university had the best ICT facilities among universities in West Africa, which had made it possible for the electronic smart board to be installed in all lecture halls.

Culled Leadership