Nasarawa Gov Pays NOUN’s CofO Bill with Personal Salary

Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has offset the Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) bill hanging on the neck of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Lafia Study Centre with his June and July salaries as governor of the state.

He said the gesture was his personal commitment and that of the state government to providing quality education for its people.

The governor declared his readiness to offset the bill when the management of the Lafia Study Centre paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House.

He commended the management of the university for the good work of providing the state and its environs with quality education, even as he assured the members of his administration’s readiness to support the institution in every way it could to boost their morale to do more.

Responding to a request by the institution’s management for a waiver on land acquisition charges, Sule maintained that he would not talk of revenue generation and at the same time grant waivers on land charges, however, he said: “Luckily for you, I have not been paid my June salary yet, so they are paying me both June and July salaries at the same time. Therefore, I will pay the bills for you out of my salaries of the months of June and July.

“That will be part of my own personal contribution to the development of education. As I always say, I will continue to support education in every way that I could.”

He further pledged to support the university to construct a befitting hall in the institution.

In his remarks, the NOUN Lafia Centre Director, Prof. Alachi Atu commended the governor for his activities in the areas of health, education, youth and women empowerment, revenue generation, and attracting investors all aimed at impacting positively on the people of the state.

He said with the institution’s philosophy of ‘work and learn’, the university provides cost-effective, innovative, affordable and flexible education for all Nigerians.