Federal Government has been commended for approval a Federal University to be sited in the Otueke community in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The paramount ruler of the community, HRH Lloyd Ogiasa made the commendation when he received the honourable Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi in his palace in Otuoke.

Otueke is the country home of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, Preisdent of Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Minister who was accompanied by the Bayelsa state Commissioner of Education, Chief Josephine Ezonbodor during the visit,was in Otuoke, to inspect the site of the recently approved federal university to be located in the community.

Ogiasa, who was full of appreciation to the government, noted that the establishment of the university would help address the imbalance in the distribution of federal institutions in the nation.

The paramount ruler noted that Bayesla state was one of the few states that lacked a federal university and described Otuoke as an upland community in contrast with most communities in the state that are waterlogged.

He assured the minister of the community’s preparedness to support the project with the donation of 200 hectares of land to enable the government commence the building of its permanent structures. In his response, Gbagi reinstated the commitment of the federal government to expand access to university education to all the geo-political zones in the nation, adding that the government was in a hurry to commence the project which he said was expected to be ready by September 2011, when academic activities are expected to commence.

I want to appeal to you to make this land available urgently to enable the federal government commence the project because we are hoping to start academic activities in the school by September 2011′, he stated.

He disclosed that the federal government recently released a whopping sum ofN1.5 billion as take off  grant for each of the: recently approved federal university to enable the project commence in earnest.

The minister, who expressed satisfaction with the location of the site, directed the executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to put the necessary motion in place for the smooth take-over of the land with a view to commencing construction work.

Part of the 200 hectares university site is expected to accommodate the compound of the Gifted Children School, Otuoke, a special children school built by the state government but has since been closed down.