Senate approves federal university for Ekiti State

Senate has approved that a Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences in Iyin-Ekiti, Ekiti State be established with a mission to address knowledge deficit in the fields of technology and environmental sciences.

The red chamber gave its approval after a bill seeking the establishment of the new tertiary institution was extensively debated and unanimously ratified at the plenary at the Senate Chamber in Abuja on Thursday.

The Senate, presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jubrin, subsequently referred the bill to its Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for further legislation and other considerations.

The bill, sponsored by the Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, elicited overwhelming support of senators across all political divides, attesting to its significance to developing world-class technologists and human resources that would manage the country’s economy.

First initiated in the Ninth National Assembly, the bill was brought back for consideration at the Senate Chambers on October 17, 2023 with specific focus on addressing knowledge deficit gaps in the fields of technology and environmental sciences.

Explaining its significance at the plenary, Bamidele specifically observed that the passage of the bill into law would develop world-class technologists as well as human resources for exponential economic growth and sustainable development.

Bamidele further explained that the purpose of the bill “is to create more access to university education in view of a large number of qualified candidates, who are annually stranded in attempts to gain admission into the universities of their choice across the Federation.
He said: “The university, when fully established as proposed, will definitely advance knowledge through edge-cutting research and nurture unique technological innovation, entrepreneurship and wealth management in its core areas of specialisation.”

“The enactment of this bill will help in transforming the technological and educational fortune in producing the desired manpower and expertise that Nigeria is yearning for to exponentially speed up our economic growth and ensure sustainable development.”