President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, blamed previous administrations for the decay in infrastructures across the country.
The President spoke when he commissioned the Ultra-Modern Centre of Excellence (COE), University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC) constructed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
From the UNEC he had proceeded to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, where his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, held a campaign rally.
He stated that his administration was committed to reversing the decay in the nation’s higher institutions.
“I am pleased to see this kind of relationship. We are here honouring one of Nigeria’s nationalist the late Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who as Premier of the then Eastern region established this institution almost six decades ago as the first indigenous University in Nigeria.
“Since its establishment, the university has made tremendous progress, to this we remain grateful to this great Icon for his foresight. It is common knowledge that facilities in our universities in particular and institutions of higher learning in general has over the time dilapidated.
“These facilities have failed to keep pace not only with the time and technology but also with requirement of even greater growing population of students and other stakeholders. This has largely due to poor funding of the education sector over the years.
“Our administration, we are committed and determined to continue to reverse this situation even in the face of dwindling government resources. Today’s event is part of our commitment to address the situation and to represent a land mark for our students as it provides them with a conducive environment and right equipped facilities for their academic pursuit.
“I wish to note here that this administration places much premium on education because it is a bedrock for societal progress. The state of education in terms of output, quality and affordability has a direct bearing on our national aspirations and our collective desire to poverty reduction, securing the nation, improve the infrastructure and secure the future. We shall not rest until we deliver on this commitment,” he pledged.
Buhari while commending CBN for the wonderful initiative, said he was pleased with the level of collaboration and relationship with other stakeholders in realising the project.
“The challenge in educational sector calls for this kind of collaboration and partnership. I also understand that the curricular to be used in the centre is being reversed to include the emerging issues in the areas of interest. This implies significant value addition what is present today”.
In his address, the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele said the project was conceived to address the brain drain in the financial sector.
He said that the project, which comprises a magnificent Faculty Block and furnished Hostel, has state-of-the-art facilities which include; “central air-conditioning system, 500-seater acoustic auditorium, e-Library, central Wi-Fi availability, telepresence room.”
At the campaign rally Buhari said he was not making new promises but was committed to ensuring that the country was restored to the path of prosperity.
In his speech, the minister of foreign affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama said Nigeria was blessed to have a leader in the mold of Buhari.
He said Buhari was a leader with dignity, a leader that represents the best in the country, adding that the Buhari administration’s priority was to create an enabling environment for people to realize their potentials, strengthen the economy and put in place an economic recovery and growth plan.
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