Abia Governor, Otti, to speak on fuel subsidy removal at UNN’s 63rd Founders’ Day Lecture

The Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, would speak on fuel subsidy removal by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, as the 63rd Founders’ Day Lecturer of the University of Nigeria.

Dr. Otti, who is a renowned economist, banker and investor would speak on the topic  ‘Subsidy Removal: Dealing with the Challenges, Harnessing the Opportunities,’ at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium and Unity Hall, University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, on Thursday, 5th October, 2023.

This was disclosed by the Vice Chancellor of UNN, Prof. Charles Igwe, during the 2023 Founders’ Day Lecture Press Briefing at the Main Hall of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, UNEC, on Tuesday.

The Vice Chancellor who described the topic as the “hottest in Nigeria,” assured that the lecture would be enlightening and interesting because of Dr. Otti’s vast experiences in public and private sectors.

The Vice Chancellor further announced that “The next day, Friday, October 6, is the alumni day – a day set aside to celebrate our alumni. The alumni day would also be marked by a public lecture known as the “Dignity of Man Lecture”, which will be delivered by Professor Maduebubusi Ofo Iwe, the Vice -Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.

” The topic of the lecture is “Assessing the Impact of Alumni Association in the University of Nigeria”.

” Professor Iwe is a proud alumnus of the University of Nigeria and is in a great position to discuss this very important topic of the impact of UNN alumni. I am sure his lecture will address the unique problems that have continued to prevent the University of Nigeria Alumni Association from achieving her full potentials in terms of giving back to their alma mater.”

He further said that the staff and students of the University have remained competitive despite the daunting challenges confronting the Institution.

“In terms of academic output, our staff have been quite productive not only in the form of conference attendance, research publications, but also in inventions and patents. This year alone, the University has hosted many national and international conferences. The University is also currently publishing a growing number of academic journals and some of these have been listed or indexed by international agencies. A good example is the Nigerian Journal of Technology which is published by our Faculty of Engineering and which was recently indexed by SCOPUS -the globally recognized abstract and citation database owned by Elsevier.

“Still on academic output, a good number of our staff have also emerged the proud recipients and winners of many local and international research grants. A case in point is a World Bank grant for research in sustainable power and energy development valued at USD 6 million. This is one of the biggest grants ever won here at the University of Nigeria. Our Centre for Translation and Implementation Research (CTAIR) in the College of Medicine has also won a number of grants collectively valued at about USD I million. This is truly heartwarming and the academics who attracted these grants deserve to be recognized and celebrated by all of us,” he said.

He also said that the University has completed the building of its medical center with internally-generated revenue.

The Vice Chancellor also said “Our university has also continued to benefit from the Capital Allocation, NEEDS assessment and TETFund intervention projects. This has been enhanced by the commitment of my administration to comply with the rather strict standards and guidelines stipulated by the respective agencies of the federal government. As a result, we now have a staggering number of completed and on-going projects across our campuses. One of these is the newly completed Faculty of Agriculture building, which is now awaiting commissioning

“Recall that I recently lamented that UNN was the only first generation university without a senate building. I am happy to announce today that our dream of having a befitting senate building is closer to reality than it has ever been.”

He further said that the release of  fund for the Senate Building has undergone due processes and is currently awaiting the approval of the Federal Executive Council, FEC.

“…We also have a total of at least 20 TETFund projects which are currently at various stages of completion,” he said.

While lamenting on the high cost of running the University on the conventional power supply, he said ” It is common knowledge that the high cost of energy and the rising price of diesel now pose additional challenge to public universities across the country.

” This is because private institutions are able to adjust their tuition and service charges in line with current economic realities, while public institutions are not. 

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“As a solution to this problem, my administration has introduced a programme of phased transition to renewable energy. For example, in July this year, a 20 KVA solar solution was installed in the administration building. Thanks to Dr Obioha Fubara Okoroafor, an alumnus of the University, who sponsored the solar energy project. There are also plans to achieve such energy transitions in some other strategic buildings, such as the ICT building, in the near future.”

He however called on the Federal Government to support the gasification plant engineered by the Dean, Faculty of Engineering UNN, Prof. Emenike Ejiogu, to ensure that the University uses waste materials to generate electricity.