ETIM EFFIONG
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday virtually inaugurated a-1,050-bed space hostel at the University of Uyo to improve on the accommodation challenges in the institution.
According to the president, the hostel complex was an important project which aimed to renew the administration’s confidence to achieve one of its core objectives.
The president praised the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for providing such facilities to ensure the commission facilitates sustainable development in the region.
He added that the inauguration of the hostel has rekindled the trust of the region in the commission and would alleviate the accommodation challenges faced by students of the institution.
Buhari said his administration was committed to improving quality education for young people and enhancing the development of the country.
Earlier the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, said the 1,050-bed space hostel is completed with 24,000 gallons of water per day, 22 standby 1, 200KV generating set with enough parking space.
Akpabio said that a 122KVA sub-station would be inaugurated in Ondo State to provide electricity to about five local government areas which had been in darkness for 14 years.
He said the hostel project is a major transformation effort in the university, adding that 77 roads projects and numerous health centres have been completed within the region.
He said that the East-West Road project is ongoing with about 41 bridges and up to 82 per cent completion.
The Interim Administrator of the NDDC Mr Effiong Akwa said that the new hostel project is the third time the President will be inaugurating an NDDC project this year.
Akwa commended the President for his support to the Commission, stressing that the three projects inaugurated by the president were abandoned before the forensic audit of the Commission.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Prof. Nyaudo Ndaeyo, commended the federal government, the Ministry of the Niger Delta and NDDC.
The vice-chancellor pledged that the management and students would ensure adequate maintenance of the hostel facilities.
The President of the Student Union Government of the University of Uyo, Mr Wisdom Effiong, thanked President Buhari, Sen. Akpabio and the Interim Administrator for completing the hostel after 17 years of abandonment.