UNILORIN To Use Vast Land For Farming

Vice chancellor of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof Wahab Egbewole (SAN), has announced plans by the institution to move into real value-addition farming on its vast land.

Egbewole who disclosed this after breaking of fast (iftar) with journalists at his official residence in Ilorin, said this is necessary to improve on the institution’s internally generated revenue (IGR).

He added that the university is being repositioned to be self-sustaining, adding that “the federal government is already addressing the issues of the earlier proposal of 25 or 40 percent remittances from the public universities.

Egbewole who posited that public universities are not meant to generate revenues for the government, however, said that public institutions must be able to think outside the box so as to be self-sustaining.

The vice chancellor announced that the institution spends about N150m monthly to maintain its electricity services within the campus.

Egbewole clarified that public universities in the country are not revenue generating agencies for the federal government as they only charge students for a few services provided on their identification cards, internet services and hostel accommodations.

He also restated the commitment of his administration to creating an enabling environment for the university to achieve its “smart agenda”.

He said, “We need to create an enabling environment for our students to learn, for our staff to ply their trade and for the university to achieve its smart agenda.”

Egbewole highlighted the achievements recorded so far by his administration, adding that, “we completed the chemical engineering department; we have also added value by creating the car park that is befitting of the structure. We have also renovated a number of facilities as we speak, we have also completed a number of new hostels on private- public partnership arrangements (PPP)”.