Staff and students of the Federal University of Health and Allied Sciences, Enugu, have expressed their gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for upgrading the status of the institution from College of Dental Technology and Therapy to a university.

The staff and students, who bared their minds at an occasion to celebrate the new status of the institution, also hailed the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, for the success of the upgrade, saying it was his passion for quality healthcare delivery that enabled the upgrade of the institution.

The Rector of the new university, Prof. John Emaimo, while commending the contributions of the university’s staff through their dedication, said that the status of the university did not come to him as a surprise.

He said: “We already knew that this kind of good news will come one day, because we have had this proposal on the table of previous presidents, but it was not signed. That’s why we insisted that every staff member must get prepared to fit into the new status.

There’s a dire need for what we’re doing here as an institution. We’re not new and we’re already a degree awarding institution. We have the structure and manpower to carry on a quick transition. We know the terrain very well.

“People felt it was a joke when we were preparing. That’s why we told you to get yourself fitted into the new structure.

“I am glad that a lot of our colleagues have already prepared to fit into this new status.”

On how the upgrade will impact the health sector, Emaimo stated that it would pave the way for the introduction of programmes, which are not in the conventional universities.