A member of the Enugu State House of Assembly representing Igbo-Etiti West Constituency, Hon. Williams Amuka, on Wednesday, extended hands of collaboration to the Management of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, on infrastructure upgrade.
Hon. Amuka who is an alumnus of ESUT, indicated his interest in collaborating with the Management of the University to revive the Civil Engineering Departmental Laboratory and the Wood Workshop.
He made the disclosure when he paid a courtesy call on ESUT Management at Agbani, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State.
“Just like we visit medical laboratories for diagnosis , in engineering, we visit engineering laboratories before we embark on building of houses and roads,” he explained.
He further said that the civil engineering laboratory, when revived would enable the University to render consultancy services to clients which would boost the revenue base of the University and the state at large.
While lauding the initiative of the lawmaker, the Vice Chancellor of ESUT, Professor Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, said that Hon. Amuka’s vision aligns with that of the University Management which he said is making conscious efforts to collaborate with the “town and gown.”
While describing him as a worthy alumnus of the University, he further said that reviving the laboratory would help in enhancing the practical experience and employability status of the students of Civil Engineering in ESUT.
Prof. Okolie equally bemoaned infrastructure decay across universities in Nigeria which he blamed on poor funding, adding that the University has instituted Centre of Excellence in the Faculty of Engineering to address pertinent issues in order to motivate innovation.
While calling on other alumni of the University to emulate Hon. Amuka, he further said that ESUT had signed a good number of Memoranda of Understanding geared towards up skilling of both staff and students of the University.
