Yemisi Izuora
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to go beyond providing physical infrastructure but increase partnership with institutions in terms of funding support, to help in boosting conducive learning environment.
Buhari who gave the advise while inaugurating the world-class Post-Graduate Centre of Excellence at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC) constructed and donated by the Bank, also lauded the CBN, for making huge investments for the overall development of the country.
Speaking shortly before he unveiled the commemorative plaque and cut the ceremonial tape to formally inaugurate the building, Buhari said the construction of the project by the CBN had also underscored the Federal Government’s commitment to provide a conducive environment for learning at all levels of education.
The President said his administration placed premium on education to ensure, among other things, its affordability, stressing that education remained the bedrock of societal progress.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Governor of the CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele disclosed that the aim of the Bank, being a knowledge-based and visionary institution, was to build human capacity for the financial system in particular and the economy in general.
He added that the project was mainly to ensure that students at post-graduate levels in Economics, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration and Statistics study in a serene environment that would stimulate effective learning with a view to building human capacity for the financial services sub-sector.
He disclosed that the project, which was the product of a N10 billion Endowment Fund instituted in 2006 that has grown to over N23 billion, also aimed at checking brain drain as well a strain on the country’s foreign reserve used for funding educational pursuits abroad. According to him, the project was an expression that the Government, through the CBN, was contributing to education in the country.
Mr. Emefiele further disclosed that the centre of excellence would also enter into collaborative studies with ivy league institutions in the United States and Europe in order to attract the best brains in Finance, Accountancy and Economics.
While thanking stakeholders in the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC) and the University of Nigeria for their support in making the project a huge success, the CBN Governor urged the university to take maximum advantage of the project in order to produce graduates that are able to compete favourably in the global market.
The world-class Post-Graduate School project comprises a Faculty building and a 133-room hostel, as well as a 500-seater auditorium, four lecture and four tutorial rooms, traditional and e-libraries, and a telepresence room.