Abia poly students donate N16.5m building, ambulance
From Gordi Udeajah, Aba

A NOVELTY has been recorded at Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, as the students union undertook to assist the school by erecting a Students' Union Government (SUG) House costing N13 million and providing it with a mobile clinic/ambulance worth N3.5 million.



 
While the SUG House, according to the Rector, Allwell Onukaogu, has a conference hall and offices for students' union operatives, the mobile clinic/ambulance was equipped with basic medical facilities all at the cost of N3.5 million.

The two were among the four major projects, which were commissioned recently as part of the activities effected in its sixth convocation ceremony in which its three sets of graduands for years 2007, 2008 and 2009 were formally conferred with National and Higher National Diplomas.

The rest news below are unimportant.

The other two major projects were School of Business and Management (SBMT) building and ICT Complex, which costs were given as N122 million and N45 million respectively.

Also featured at the convocation in which the Visitor to the Polytechnic/Abia State Governor Theodore Orji was represented by his Deputy, Chris Akomas, was the conferment of Fellowships to five Nigerians namely: Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, former governor of Zamfara State and now Senator Rufai Ahmed Sani, Dr. Gregory Ibe, a renowned community benefactor/developer - Aba business man, Okebulu Jombo Nwogburu and Anthony Enukeme, an Aba-based industrialist.

Akomas praised the school for all its records of achievements in spite of its handicaps, reiterating that the state government would continue to give its schools, including the polytechnic, all necessary assistance within the limits of its resources.

He lauded the contributions of the students and workers to its development.

The rector expressed the gratitude of employees and students to the state government, including the Education Trust Fund (ETF) for their support, appealing for more.

He, however, told the governor that "as much as we have tried to get to where we are, we are not yet where we should be. We have not got full engineering departments yet. We have no hostels for our students. NBTE is coming again next year. You have always come to our rescue, you can not ignore us now".

Chairman of the governing council, Mba Ukariwo, asked the government to look into the issue of comparative remuneration of workers as was the case in other sister-institutions.

He disclosed that very soon, polytechnics in Nigeria would start to award BTech degrees.

He added: "For us to award BTech, we need to retain quality and high calibre academic workers. We cannot award BTech if we create room for the exodus of quality employees to other institutions. The workers have shown a commendable level of understanding and co-operation, the welfare of our workers needs to be taken along on the development strides".

The usual Igbo community and personal development spirit at work. Na so we take build Airport for Owerri.