The Alumni Association of the College of Education in Ikere Ekiti has called on the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi to upgrade the to a University Of Education.
This call was made over the weekend by the Association’s National President, Professor Remi Famiwole while delivering his address at the Official Commissioning of the building donated by the Alumni Association to the Institution’s Management at the Main Campus in Ikere Ekiti.
Famiwole counseled Fayemi to use his international and national connections to attract individuals and corporate organisations into the College to help develop and improve the infrastructures available there.
Famiwole equally appealed to the Governor to assist the College by approving a special grant that will help the Institution’s Management to offset the salary arrears to the Staffs as well as the allowances to the College Pensioners.
He pleaded with the Governor to also help in fixing the road networks within the College by including it in his five-Kilometres Road Network Programme designed for the local government areas of the State.
Famiwole further called on Governor Fayemi to assist the College’s Alumni Association with a gift of an 18-Seater-Bus for the use of the Alumni Association as a way of celebrating his one year of second coming with them.
He went on to stress the need for the Provost of the College to put in place necessary steps that will help improve the enrolment of Students for the NCE Programme and at the same time increase the Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) for the State Government.
Speaking further, the association’s National President, officially and publicly announced the decision of the College’s Alumni Association to name the building donated to the College Management after the Governor. He advised the Alumni Association members to brace up to do more for the growth and development of the institution.
Famiwole highlighted some of the past achievements of the Alumni Association to include the construction and donation of three (3) blocks of Hostels on the Campus which has been assisting the College to ease accommodation problems and construction and donation of a Mini Lecture Theatre and Offices which has greatly assisted the teaching and learning processes on the campus.
He expressed the readiness of the Alumni Association to network and reach out to all its members in both government and private sectors all over the world with a view to soliciting for their continuous cooperation in ensuring further development of the College.
According to Famiwole, the Building Complex built and donated by the College Alumni Association to the College Management is made up of a large hall of about 13 metres by 12 metres, eight offices, five toilets, two stores and a large walkway.
Declaring the building built and donated by Alumni Association to the College of Education’s Management open, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Pastor Foluso Daramola who represented the Governor of Ekiti State, at the event while speaking praised the efforts of the Alumni Association for the donation of the building.
Daramola maintained that “On the request for the College to be upgraded into a University Status, with the support of the Governing Council and the College Management, we will make case for it to happen because it takes processes before such things can happen. But most importantly is the issue of the infrastructural development of the institution raised here today. Mr. Governor has reiterated severally that he is in a hurry to put in place massive infrastructural upgrades of all our schools considering that there are adequate budgetary provisions, the Governor is going to do it”.
While speaking at the event, the Provost of the College of Education, Professor Isaac Adeoluwa urged the Governor to come to the rescue of the College by fixing the roads and commissioning it in his second coming to the State.
The Provost commended the Alumni Association for the donation of the building and charged them to do more. He said: “like I had reiterated, I see the Commissioning of the building by the Alumni Association as the beginning of good things to come for the College in my own time. It is a pointer to the fact that greater things are ahead of us. I want to thank His Excellency, the Governor for coming here today. He has made a lot of promises to us in the College which I believe he will fulfill in no distant time. He is our Cerebral Governor. He has the interest of the College in mind”, he maintained.
While also making his remarks at the occasion, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institution, Chief Afolabi Ojuawo used the opportunity to congratulate the Governor for the celebration of the First Year of his Second coming as governor of the State.
He commended Governor Fayemi for coming up with the idea of the Knowledge Economy which centres on the development of the Educational System of the State.
Packaged by Emmanuel Adeniran
