… orders stop to commissioning but summons contractor
The days of governors being angry with things happening in the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (UST) may be back as the visitor, Governor Nyesom Wike, took time to lambast the management of the university on Saturday, during the 29th convocation event.
The governor said his anger began right at the gates where rowdy traders were hawking their wares to give the UST a bad image and ordered for immediate action.
Next, the governor who inspected ongoing projects for which he had released N500 million said he was not impressed, saying he was not satisfied with the quality of job done on building projects at the faculty of Environmental Sciences and faculty of Management Sciences for the completion of the projects that were long abandoned.
The governor ordered the university governing council and the management to ensure the buildings were not commissioned until the proper job was done. The governor equally ordered the contractor handling the buildings to report in the Government House by Tuesday, April 4, 2017, to explain why he was not performing to expectation despite funds released.
He rather challenged the management of the university to shun every temptation faced by it but endeavour to come up with innovative researches that would impact on the development of the state in positive ways.
Wike announced the formal change of name of the 35-year-old university from Rivers State University of Science & Technology (RSUST) to Rivers State University (RSU) with effect from April 1, 2017, as contained in the recently amended law setting up the pioneer science and technology institution.
On the state of the environment that was few years ago a tourist delight loved most by the governors that visited, Wike now decried what he described as poor sanitation status and the environment of the RSU right from the entrance. He said the vice chancellor and the management must rise up to their responsibilities by keeping the environment clean at all times.
He aid; “As I was coming to attend this convocation this morning, right from the round about at the school man gate, I saw that the place was very dirty with grasses over grown. This does not speak well of the university in terms of cleanliness. A university environment must be kept clean”. He immediately ordered traders to keep off the entrance of the University henceforth.
Wike pledged to support the RSU in the area of staff recruitment to ensure that they get full accreditation to all their courses. Three courses including law were denied accreditation in the last exercise, whereas all courses had full accreditation by 2015 when the new administration took over. The governing council said the loss was due to inadequate manpower.
The governor however declared that his administration would continue to sustain the dedicated funding of the Rivers State University to ensure that all courses of the institution get full accreditation from relevant academic bodies.
The governor assured that his administration would always make the necessary investments to ensure that no Rivers person is denied access to quality education.
He said: “A developing State such as ours needs the knowledge, skills and dexterity of our people to progress and prosper. Our administration recognises that providing quality education, as a tool for development, is as important as providing physical infrastructure.”
He charged the graduands of the institution to be worthy ambassadors of the institution, who will contribute their quota to the development of the state.
In his address, Pro-Chancellor of the University, the retired chief justice of the state, Iche Ndu represented by a reverend, Joseph Omaegbu, lauded Governor Wike for bringing to fruition the College of Medical Sciences of the Rivers State University to fruition, in addition to completing the Faculty of Management Sciences and Faculty of Environmental Sciences building at the university.
Also speaking, Vice Chancellor of the University, the professor, Blessing Didia, said the school was an extension of the state’s construction activities. He said that the university awarded first degrees, post graduate diplomas, masters and doctorate degrees to 4,536 graduands with nine doctorate graduands and eight first class.
The over all best graduating is Buekor Nyornebari Grace; the best graduating student, Management Sciences is Toby Obelebara Boma, while the est graduating student, Enterprise Development and Management, sponsored by Wider Perspectives Limited, is Aka Lasbery Oyemuche.
