Benue State governor Samuel Ortom has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for immortalising the late Joseph Sarwuan Tarka by changing the name of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi to Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi.
The governor who made the commendation when the Governing Council and Management of JOSTUM paid him a courtesy visit said Tarka had contributed immensely to the development of politics and humanity during his short stay on earth.
According to him, the late J.S. Tarka fought for the rights of minorities.
“I appreciate Mr President for honouring us not just Tarka but the entire people of the state,” he said.
Ortom however lamented that the host community of the school was shortchanged, stressing that the money that was released for compensation did not get to them, as a result relocating them to other places became a problem, saying that is why they are still laying claims to the land.
“We have formed a committee and we will bring in the management of the school into it. This will enable us to see how we will have a win-win situation for both the host community and the institution,” Ortom said.
On the issue of January 31st 2023 deadline for use of old naira notes given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the governor appealed for the extension of the deadline so as to accommodate people in the rural areas.
The governor noted that since the new notes were not much in circulation, it was not possible especially for the rural dwellers to beat the deadline, stressing that most of them do not even have bank accounts.
The pro- chancellor, Mrs Edith Uwajumogu, said that she was grateful to God for making her the first female pro-chancellor of the university since its inception.
Uwajumogu disclosed that their interest was to see that the school becomes greater, adding that the name of the school had been changed but it had not gone conventional yet, expressing optimism that it would be done pretty soon.
She appealed to the state government to rehabilitate the road from the SRS junction to the school and also demanded for vehicles to ease students’ transportation challenges, stressing that the institution was too large therefore the students trek long distances in order to attend lectures.
Earlier, the acting vice chancellor of the university, Prof. Paul Anune, said they were grateful to Ortom for his willingness to partner with the institution and informed the governor that the issue of encroachment on the institution’s land by the host community was still on.
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