Buhari commends FUTO on actualisation of College of Medicine

President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the Governing Council/Management, Senate, staff and students of Federal University of Technology Owerri( FUTO) for meeting the conditions/ guidelines for the commencement of Barchelor of Medicine, Barchelor of Surgery(M.B.B.S.) degrees and assured them of the support of the federal government in the establishment of full- fledged Federal Teaching Hospital in Imo state.

This commendation came weekend when the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, represented him on the occasion of the 33rd Convocation Ceremony of the Federal University of Technology Owerri( FUTO).

The president also noted other recent giant strides recorded by the university, especially in the areas of academic prowess, teaching, learning, research, infrastructure coupled with the relationship between the management and the unions.

“Worthy of mention is the selection of FUTO for the establishment of the Centre of Excellence in Local Materials Substitutions (CoLMas) by the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board(NCDMB) with an aim of creating a suitable environment that would bring together the academia in FUTO and stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to locally solve the challenges of the oil and gas sector,” he said.

Earlier, the president had stated the federal government’s commitment towards providing adequate jobs and ensuring safety of lives and property for the citizenry as well as providing enabling environment for private sector to thrive.

He said “In spite of the economic down turn that has befallen not just Nigeria but the entire global community, we are determined to continue providing opportunities to ensure our young ones develop their skills and talents.”

Also speaking, the governor of Imo state, Senator Hope Uzodimma, represented by his deputy, Pro. Placid Njoku, stated the readiness of the state to cooperate with the university in many projects and programmes for its greater impact and the good of the people, like in Information and Communication Technology, oil and gas, waste management, agriculture and animal husbandry, environment management, equipment fabrication etc. and assured that the state government was committed to the recovery of all FUTO lands encroached upon by land grabbers. He advised the graduands against the abuse of dangerous drugs that have kept the youth mentally deranged.

In his own speech, the FUTO Governing Council Chairman, Senator Jack Tilleey Gyad, assured that the council would take up issues of dearth of infrastructural facilities, crippling paucity of funds, manpower trainings, closer interface with intervention agencies, staff, and students’ welfare.

Senator Gyado also solicited the valued assistance of the president, through the Minister for Education to kindly consider the payment of N3 billion promised FUTO as relocation grant since the university relocated from Lake Nwaebere Campus in 1993.