Kwara state university in collaboration with Cherry motors have concluded arrangements to float an assembly plant with a capacity to couple 30 cherry buses in a day.
When fully operational, KWASU will be the first university in Nigeria with a vehicle assembly plant that will deliver at least 150 cherry buses in a week.
KWASU’ s director, centre for investment and consulting services, Dr. Mustapha AbdulRahman, made the disclosure at the bi-monthly interactive session with journalists ,an idea initiated by the office of the new vice chancellor, Professor Muhammed Mustapha Akanbi.
Speaking at the forum, Abdulrahman hinted that the partnership arrangement with the foreign firm ,will allow KWASU to hold 50% of the capital holding with opportunities of creating skilled and unskilled jobs to the host community of malete and its environs .
He said the coming of the assembly plant will also change the fleets of transport plying the malete – Ilorin routes as new cherry buses that will guarantee staff and students safety will be deployed .
“So far ,some organisations have indicated their willingness to partner with KWASU in the areas of Manufacturing /Assembly of Buses – Cherry Q 99 .TJ Motors Limited ,the Sole Representative of CHEERY Q 99 in Nigeria ,has indicated its willingness to establish Motor vehicle Assembly plant in malete. It requires KWASU to hold 50% of the capital holding of the Assembly plant”, Abdulrahman said.
He added “KWASU is to provide a workshop on campus to store semi broken down components (SBDC) of cheery buses with maximal coupling capacity of 30 buses per day ; and payment of 10 million to procure coupling tools and equipment.”
Also giving an update of its centre’ s activities, the director ,centre for community development, Mr Lawal Olorungbebe, said the “centre had so far facilitated 40 boreholes for the communities with three out of them sponsored by the state government.
He said the center had so far reached 138 communities with its various intervention programmes that had seen KWASU adopting 51 orphans and vulnerable children in its school enrolment programmes.
Of the 51 adopted orphans, he said 34 have graduated with one of them baging first class honours.
Similarly, he added that 350 women have been empowered under various schemes .
From the center for Education and International studies, the director, Dr Ibrahim Abdulraheem, said the centre has deepened the cultural and economic ties between the university and some foreing countries through student exchange programmes and trips.
This according to him, would end brain drain and give Nigeria an organised way of exporting skills without necessarily losing brains.
