I will effect more development for Lokoja Varsity—–Vice Chancello
The newly appointed Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Lokoja Professor Olayemi Akinwumi has promised to use his contacts and experience to make the institution as one of the 10-top ranking universities in Africa as spelt out by the mission of the university.
Professor Akinwumi stated this on Monday during his inauguration as the third Vice Chancellor of the ten years old university at the main campus in Felele.
He stated that his primary goal is to add value to the university stated mission which is to be the best among the nine newly-established Federal universities and one of the 10-top ranking universities in Africa.
“If Federal University, Lokoja is to move to the top-10. The first part of the vision is relatively more straight-forward. I have personally been to this universities 11 federal University federal universities established in 2011” he said
According to him, the university currently ranked seventh among the 11 Federal Universities established in 2012, 78th in Nigeria, 255th in Africa and 10,600th in the world.
The Vice Chancellor who is the third Vice Chancellor of the institution took over from Professor Angela Freeman Miri noted that the university has a unique mission to train employable graduates through competency-based teaching, applied research and practical community service to the catchment area, Africa and the world.
“At the interview that gave me this job, I submitted a vision plan that outlined what I will do if I got the job. Now that I have the job, I have reviewed the plan alongside the university’s strategic plan.
“I will share the plan with an expanded management committee and subsequently with the Senate so that it will be adopted and truly owned by the university.
He noted that the utmost on the agenda is to pursue revenue generation to augment the Federal Government and agencies support to enable the university move forward.
“We just have to grow our bottom line and seriously washable expenditure. By the time I complete my term in 1825 days we should have a minimum of 10,000 economic trees on our campus.
“It is no longer news that data is the crude oil of the information age. My plan is to position Federal University Lokoja as the data hub of Kogi State.
“We will map and capture all essential data for education, social and economic services and a repository of information and knowledge.
“As digital natives, our students will be equipped with skills that will help them understand the science of numbers and how to use numbers to make decisions.
Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello represented by the state Commissioner for Education, Mr Wemi Jones stated that the Ministry of Education had a wonderful working relationship with the university, adding that he looked forward to more synergy to achieve the New Direction Agenda of the state government.
“I am not convinced that with what you have accomplished, I am just optimist that the Federal University, Lokoja is in the best of hands and shall see glorious development going forward” the governor said.
The new Vice Chancellor subsequently undertook a facility tour of the permanent site