From Kehinde Adewole
Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina has given some good news to aspiring students seeking to get admissions for undergraduate academic programmes in the faculties of Pharmacy, Basic Medical Sciences and Environmental Sciences. The three faculties are the newest among seven faculties put in place by the administration of the immediate past VC, Prof. Kayode Soremekun. While the school Management had employed staff members for the faculties for some few months now, students were yet to be admitted for the programmes.
A press statement made available to newsmen on Monday and signed by his Special Adviser (S.A) on Media, Wole Balogun, said Prof Fasina, while speaking with the members of the Ekiti State Correspondent chapel who visited him on invitation at his residence in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend, assured that his administration has began concrete plans to admit students in the undergraduate programmes in the three faculties which have already been fully accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
His words: “We are soon going to advertise for some faculties to ensure that candidates who have sat for the last UTME can choose our institution. They include faculties of Pharmacy, Basic Medical Sciences, and Environmental Sciences. I have toured all the 11 faculties and I have a good idea of all their challenges. These three faculties do not have students yet and we do not want their lecturers, already employed, to be idle. So, we are planning for their resumption by May this year.”
The new helmsman at FUOYE, also revealed other plans he is making to bring development to the institution, saying: “We are also planning on having a staff school and we have already chosen our facility on which we will cite the staff school.
“I have visited the hostels where our students live on campus, both the girls’ and boys’ hostels. I interracted closely with them and also inspected the facilities in their hostels. I immediately solved some of the challenges they have and they were very happy. This is what I like to do, solve problems without any delay.
“One of my visions is to first establish a College of Medicine. We are making serious plans to admit the first set of students this year October. Concrete plans are in top gear to ensure this dream materialize this year October.
I am going to leverage on my wide contacts and influence to get many development partners for a rapid development of our great FUOYE.
” Developing Ekiti is equally my project. We want to ensure our University have very enduring impact on Ekiti. I am going to develop with others, an elaborate agricultural project that will guarantee food supply for the state.
” We have now 24,184 students and by the end of this year, we will have over 30,000 students in FUOYE. We are attracting and encouraging estate developers and other organizations to come and build more hostels for us. We are also welcoming individual and corporate donors to assist us in developing our institution,” he assured.
Speaking briefly about his historic emergence as the fourth VC of FUOYE, he said: ” I have worked with about nine VCs, and was head of department for 13 years. I have also served as Director, and Acting VC for several years.
” My appointment is not by any man, it was by God. We were 76 that contested but God chose me. It is not only by competence but by God’s grace. It is not that l do not have the academic laurels, l have all of them. But God’s grace saw me through.
“I stated planning since the day my appointment was announced. I have set up 15 committees and they have started work already. I am not going to play sentiments and politics because I know if I do that, we won’t get anywhere.
I have repositioned several staff members so that they can perform optimally. This development has affected many staff members who l know are sound and can perform very well.
” The unions in the University have began to work harmoniously with me. One of them had even reached out to me saying they were very happy with what I have been doing and he advised me not to derail or allow anyone to influence me negatively and promised their support.
” The non-teaching staff have been very wonderful with me. But l have started vigorous consultations for peace and stability with my colleagues, the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
“FUOYE has recorded very tremendous success and sadly these huge success have not be well reported in the media. We have instead, been having negative reports. I therefore urge you to assist in propagating those great success we have recorded.”
