The vice chancellor of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja), Professor Abdul-Rasheed Na-Allah, said the institution will soon experience rapid transformation and growth in its academic programmes, staff development and infrastructural expansion after more than twenty years of neglect, infighting among workers and the management of the university.
He said the governing council of the university had outlined and approved several positive development initiatives for implementation that would lift the school to greater heights before the end of the current year. Abdul-Rasheed Na-Allah, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen, soon after discussion with a visitation panel, stated that some of the projects under consideration are modern administrative structures, including a new senate building, recreation facilities, and access to free internet for staff/students as well as the creation of reliable e-payment platforms to ease the bottlenecks within the finance department for seamless operations.
Na’Allah said: “Yes. We would set up a committee to look into strategies on how to convene congregations more regularly. The truth is that different arms of the university must work together and must converge to build the institution.
“It is not only congregation, it includes convocation among others. We want to make sure that we have a clear guideline on how to go about these things so that we do not limit the congress to elections alone. What has been in existence as a tradition before I came in as vice chancellor was that people convene only when there are elections but now it will become more regular.”
On the magic behind positive changes in the university since he assumed office as the vice chancellor, Na’Allah said, “There is no magic. It is simply that I brought my experience as the vice chancellor of Kwara State University into the administrative process to move things in this university forward.
“The experience of working with different stakeholders across the nation has been very helpful. What we are doing is to bring to the University of Abuja the goodwill that we have at the TETFUND and other places to turn things around because the university suffered serious neglect in the past.
“The goodwill has brought in many things. Very soon, several infrastructural projects will take-off. We will construct a new Senate building with about N1. 5 million.”
The VC said there would be an international conference centre which costs N1. 5 million, adding that they would construct roads and drainages and refurbish buildings in many halls.
According to him, “All these projects are coming up this year. The money has already been given to us. We are also laying cables for reliable internet connection throughout the campus so that people can have access to online facilities.
“We are also using our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for some projects like constructing a new staff quarters.
“It is partly used in financing the Conference Centre and a guest house where we would be housing our guests.”
The VC said they would create computerised laboratories throughout the campus, so that staff and students can do research easily.
“We are working to provide many necessary facilities and a conducive environment for learning so that our staff and students will be happy. There are many projects that we are working on and some of them are from our internally generated revenue,” he said.
On the issue of recruitment that was also raised at the stakeholder’s meeting, the vice chancellor said: “We will recruit but we cannot do it now because government has not yet approved our request. We made a request to the Federal Government on our staff need in every faculty.”
