Elizade varsity founder tasks governing council on advancement

Founder of Elizade University, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, has charged the governing council led by former Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, to take the institution to a new level greatness.

Speaking during the inauguration of the council, weekend, at Ilara-Mokin, he tasked Bamiro to apply his wealth of experience to make the university a cynosure, expressing his desire to see the institution among the top five of the nation’s 179 universities in the next five years.

The new council members include the wife of Ekiti State governor, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi.The first council chaired by Prof. Oluwafeyisola Adegoke was inaugurated in April 2012 while the second, whose tenure expired last two months, was inaugurated on October 20, 2016 and chaired by Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

Ade-Ojo said: “One of my chief aims for setting up this university is to help reverse the exodus of our scholars to other countries, by making at home what they seek overseas.“I wanted to breed pure Nigerian graduates to an essentially Nigerian atmosphere but with new attitude of service to one’s community.”

He expressed hope that the university would surmount every obstacle to succeed by leveraging on his huge investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) since the establishment of the institution.

“From this very ambitious vision, you should be able to discern how important your assignment is as well as how my hope is as the founder of this university. “I have committed my life to this university, and to that extent, I have even invested over N28 billion in the institution. God helping me, I would continue to do my very best for the university until it becomes self-sustainable,” the businessman disclosed.

The founder urged the council to complement his efforts as the sole financier of the institution, hoping on their experiences for local and international recognitions for Elizade.“I would like the university under this council to forge a strong link between itself, the business world and government and its parastatals, realising that at the end of their studies, the students would invariably be found in all these sectors.”

The pro-chancellor, Bamiro, lauded the founder for his passion for the country by committing his resources to creating an institution of unparalleled quality, and at a cheaper rate. He assured that the council, alongside the management headed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olukayode Amund, would work in accordance with the vision and mission of the founder to make the university great. Bamiro noted that the council and management, with members that had disabused their minds from the pitfalls of public institutions, would leverage more on quality assurance.