Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun, Delta State, Prof. Shehu Zuru, has lamented the slow pace of work on the ongoing Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) projects in the institution.
Zuru made this observation on Thursday when he led some members of the FUPRE Governing Council to inspect some the projects in the specialised university, noting that the projects would help to change the narrative of the institution.
Zuru who is also the Chairman of the governing council of the institution, attributed the current level development in the university to the cogent and diligent efforts of both the management and the council.
The projects inspected were the Solar Power Project and the College of Science Phase 11, financed by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
“The university remains work in progress. There are stages of progress and it is as a result of the synergy between the management and the council.
“We are satisfied with the level of progress recorded. It is a remarkable stride that will help to change the narrative of FUPRE.
“We are hopeful that in no distant time, those projects will come on stream and duly handed over to the university.
“However, FUPRE is concerned about the slow progress of the TETFUND because they are awarded with timeline.
“Unless those projects are completed, FUPRE will be denied access to funding and we will not accept that.
“So we are going to engage the contractors to ensure their action did not stall or frustrate the timeline of the delivery of the projects,” he said.
The pro-chancellor said that the benefit of the solar power would be enough to the university and the neighbouring communities
According to him, the benefits would transcend the confines of the university to the host communities as part of the university Corporate Social Responsibility.
Zuru lauded the unity and cordiality between the unions and the management of the university
He said the unions were always taken along in every policy decisions that affects them.
He described media as powerful instruments to reach out to critical stakeholders in the management of the university system in Nigeria particularly the Federal Ministry of Education, TETFUND and other agencies in the education sector.
