Tinubu Laments Huge Resources Spent on Combating Insecurity

Laleye Dipo in Minna

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lamented the huge resources the country is spending to combat insecurity in parts of the country saying this is affecting the deployment of funds to other sectors.

The President made the declaration in a speech he sent to the 31/32 convocation ceremonies of the Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger state on Thursday during which he pledged that government will however not allow the other sectors to suffer as a result of the battle to secure the country.

“Our beloved country is facing security challenges on various fronts this situation affects the availability of funds for other needs,” the President declared.

In the address read by a Management Staff of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Dr Chinedu Nwajuiba, Tinubu however declared that, the situation not withstanding, the government will continue to ensure that “our campuses remain safe and conducive for learning”.
He assuree also that the administration was committed to having industrial harmony in our educational institutions and shall continue to dialogue with the university staff based unions to amicably resolve differences.

He urged the unions to maintain the path of dialogue at all times as “frequent strikes hurt us all”.

He declared, “Your expectations may not have been met as speedily as you may have wished, but be rest assured that I value your efforts and contributions to national development and my administration will fulfil my promises and obligations to you all.”

The President also disclosed that the government was committed to revamping the entire education sector which was why it got the second highest allocation of
N2.18 trillion in the 2024 Appropriation Bill, more than 80 percent higher than the N1.29 allotted it in 2023, adding that the Students loan act had been signed to ensure no student pulled out of the university on account of lack of money.

President Tinubu commended the management and staff of the university for “diligently playing their roles and going the extra mile to attain the feat we are celebrating today”, stressing that the leadership of the institution had been very staedfast.

Niger State Governor Alhaji Mohammed Umaru Bago in an address read by his Deputy, Comrade Yakubu Garba, disclosed that the state will establish additional universities to meet the demand for tertiary education by the people of the state and Nigerians as a whole.

Governor Bago said the new Abdulkhadir Kure University in Minna, now a conventional university, will be opened to all Nigerians, adding that the government was prepared to fund the institution.

Vice Chancellor of the University Professor Farouuk Adamu Kuta announced that over 7300 students graduated with 187 of them coming out with first class.

Professor Kuta also decried the students accommodation problem facing the institution before asking for government and private sector intervention.