He said the project which would be built by the Parents’ Forum of the institution, was expected to tackle students’ acute accommodation problem.
The project, tagged: “Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan’s Female Hostel Complex’’, is expected to be completed in two years.
“As a university of `first choice’, we are constantly working on ways to put in place the necessary infrastructure … we are the best in not only Africa, but the world at large. The hostel that is to be named after the country’s first lady is the first of its kind in any Nigerian university.
“Over time, we have been having issues with shortage of accommodation, especially for our female students; but as it stands, we are about to witness a huge relief in that regard.
“I must thank the first lady for agreeing to be part of the history-making event and also thank our parents for coming to partner with us,” he said.
Oni said the university was open to partnership with public-spirited individuals and corporate organisations in its quest to promote excellence.
He also lauded the Delta Government which, he said, had already embraced the project.
Mr. Babatunde Majekodunmi, the Chairman, UNILAG’s Parents’ Forum, said the forum which was established in 1999 had showed concern over accommodation challenge in the university.
He promised that world-class facilities would be provided at the hostel.
“We noticed the challenges that our children have been facing in the area of accommodation in the institution over the years. We met with the authorities of the university to discuss how we can come in and at the end we were shown a piece of land we could use for the project.
“It is based on this that we now asked every parent of the institution to pay a minimum of N10, 000. Our involvement in this project is basically to ensure that the university keeps track of its history of academic excellence and to ensure peace,” he said.
Prof. Olukayode Amund, the Dean, Student Affairs of the institution, said the hostel project, when completed, would provide about 1,000 additional bed spaces for female students.
“We have over 28,000 students (undergraduates) presently, who struggle for about 5, 800 bed spaces in the 14 existing hostels.
“We also have about 10,000 postgraduate students, struggling for about 600 bed spaces in two hostels. As you know, we always have a greater demand for hostels from our female students, and this had been a far cry from what we currently have on ground.
“I think this is a laudable project by our parents’ forum and I wish to call for more public-private partnership to lift the university to a greater height,” Amund said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Fundraising Committee, Prof. Nwose Chukuma, described the hostel project as a landmark in the history of the 50-year-old university.
Source: PMNews
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