Fashola Calls For Improved Roads In Tertiary Institutions

By Niyi Olutunde, Akure

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Monday, said there was need to improve on level of roads in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

According to Fashola, students are expressing a renewed enthusiasm with regard to attending classes, because some defective roads have been motorable.

The Minister gave the disclosure while inaugurating 1.8 kilometers of road constructed by the ministry at the Federal University of Technology, Akure.

Fashola, who was represented by Mr Olajide Uzeni, the state Coordinate of the ministry in Ondo, said the ministry was attending to no fewer than 43 interventions in internal roads within tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

According to him, the gesture was an intervention programme being carried out by the ministry and 18 out of the 43 interventions had been completed.

The minister explained that it was undebatable that quality education would be impacted by the quality of infrastructure and the learning environment.

Fashola urged FUTA to ensure that the asset was used properly and not being aborted.

In his short remarks, Professor Joseph Fuwape, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, lauded FG and the ministry for the project, describing it as auspicious.

Fuwape said that the road was very core to the institution because it linked four schools of study together as well as School of Post-graduate Studies.

The Vice Chancellor stressed that more than 2,000 students would benefit from the road.

He also commended the ministry for rehabilitating SouthGate road in the university.

Fuwape tasked the ministry to do more in its second phase of intervention.

He, therefore, enjoined the ministry to partner with the institution in training its students on site during construction.

“It is not only about doing roads but also on training. Our students can get the nitty gritty of road and housing construction.

” Here we have Civil Engineering Department and out students can have their projects on site while doing construction,” he said.

Commending the intervention, Miss Caroline Felix, the Vice President of the Students’ Union Government ( SUG) of FUTA, said that the road would ease transportation problems in the school.

Felix added that the road before construction was one of the major causes of lateness for students.