The Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to reconstitute the Governing Council of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB).
The Obong, who is also the Chancellor of the university, made the appeal in a statement issued in Abeokuta yesterday by FUNAAB Spokesman, Mr Kola Adepoju.
The chancellor noted that since the exit of the university’s sixth governing council on May 6, 2021, FUNAAB and Universities of Agriculture in the country had been operating without council.
He said reconstitution of governing council became necessary since the tenure of the three principal officers of FUNAAB would end this year.
The three principal officers are Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kolawole Salako, the Registrar, Dr Bola Adekola and the Bursar, Mr Chukwuwinke Ezekpeazu.
The traditional ruler appreciated the Federal Government for the partial restoration of courses in the College of Management Sciences which were delisted about six years ago.
He appealed for full restoration of all other management courses so that the teeming population of youths far and near would have access to tertiary education through these courses.
“The existence of the College of Entrepreneurial Studies is to add value to what we are doing because of the strong inter-relationship between agriculture and management,” he said.
The chancellor also appreciated President Buhari for approving his reappointment as the Chancellor for another term, saying it was a rare privilege that he would never take for granted.
He also commended the vice chancellor and his management’s team for doing well in placing the university on the right path to academic excellence.
The chancellor commended the federal government for the increase in the capital budgets which had enabled the university to undertake the construction of a dam to promote irrigation and provide water for the university community.
He solicited for better funding to cater for the overhead expenditure of the university.