By Ovie Okpare
Federal Government has approved October 2022 as the take-off date for academic activities at the Federal Polytechnic, Orogun, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State following approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.
This was contained in a letter by the Federal Ministry of Education to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, whose hometown the institution is sited.
However, jubilations have greeted the approval of the institution whose establishment act has been passed by the National Assembly by residents of the state.
The letter titled, “Approval for the Establishment of Federal Polytechnic, Orogun, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Arc. Sonny Echono, for the Honourable Minister.
The letter read, “I am pleased to inform you that His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has approved the establishment of Federal Polytechnic, Orogun, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State with effect from 2022.
“The Honourable Minister of Education has therefore constituted an Implementation Committee under my leadership to liaise with you and the Delta State Government for detailed planning and execution of the approval.
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“I am to inform you that a Technical Team from Federal Ministry of Education and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) shall visit your state to identify and assess the site in Orogun, Ughelli North LG.A. as well as facilitate necessary arrangements for commencement of academic activities in October 2022”
Reacting to the development, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Omo-Agege, thanked President Buhari, saying the approval, once again, has shown the leadership quality of Mr. President to the development of education in the country.
Omo-Agege, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Legislative & Plenary Matters, Prince Efe Duku, also thanked his colleagues and members of the House of Representatives for the passage of the bill establishing the institution.
“President Buhari’s gracious approval of the founding and take-off of the Federal Polytechnic Orogun demonstrates yet again his clear leadership vision that our nation must embrace the future with a truly innovative educational system. One supplying world-class human resource portfolios for national and global development.
“The Federal Polytechnic Orogun is another clear evidence of Mr. President’s admirable statesmanship, patriotic attention to strategic human capital development and deep love for our people.
“On behalf of our traditional, religious, political, women, and youth leaders, and indeed all our people, the Deputy President of the Senate is profoundly grateful to Mr. President for the realisation of the dream of the establishment of this academic institution. The DSP is daily humbled by God’s amazing grace which is manifest in President Buhari’s support for his humble efforts to represent our people with honour, courage, and distinction in the Senate. He is also thankful to his dear friend and brother, the Honourable Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, for his leadership and sense of integrity on this issue, like others.
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“May we say that Senator Omo-Agege has always envisioned the possibility of public tertiary academic institutions with core ‘Silicon Valley’ character in Nigeria. Institutions known mainly for world-class research capabilities and first-class achievements in the sciences, especially computer science – computer graphics, network design, computer-assisted education, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, big data, cyber security, bioinformatics, amongst others.
“This was the major motivation for his introduction of the Bill to establish the Federal Polytechnic Orogun in 2017 in the 8th Senate, but the political environment then did not allow the bill to progress. He re-introduced the Bill in 2019 in this 9th Senate, and it was passed by the National Assembly.
“Our people, ably represented by the DSP, are grateful to the Distinguished Senators and Members of the House of Representatives of the 9th National Assembly for the passage of the Federal Polytechnic Orogun Bill.
“The Obarisi is particularly grateful to his brothers, the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, PhD, CON, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, His Excellency, The Rt. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, His Excellency, The Rt. Honourable Ahmed Idris Wase for their unflinching support for the Bill”, the statement added.
