Senate Approves Establishment of Federal Universities in Ilaro and Kachia

By Iyojo Ameh

The Nigerian Senate, on Tuesday, approved the third reading of two bills aimed at establishing the Federal University of Technology in Ilaro, Ogun State, and the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, Kaduna State.

The approval followed the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFUND, chaired by Senator Dandutse Mohammed (APC, Katsina South).

The report supported the creation of these two institutions to promote higher education and technological advancements in Nigeria.

According to the committee’s report, the establishment of the Federal University of Technology in Ilaro is based on the upgrading of the existing Federal Polytechnic Ilaro to a full-fledged university.

The bill for this upgrade was sponsored by Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun West) and was first introduced during the 9th Senate but did not pass at the time.

In a related development, the Senate also passed the bill for the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kaduna State. However, the committee recommended changing the institution’s location from Manchok, as initially proposed by the bill’s sponsor, Senator Sunday Katung (PDP, Kaduna South), to Kachia, Kaduna State.

After a detailed clause-by-clause review of the reports, the Senate passed both bills for the third reading, moving them closer to becoming law and enabling the establishment of the two universities.