The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has reassured that his government will ensure the restructuring of the state-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU) to meet global standards and attract foreign partnership.
Obaseki, who spoke to leaders of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo Central Senatorial District, called for the support of all residents in ensuring the upgrade of the institution into an international university.
According to him, “this is one institution that we are very proud of as Edo people. The institution has an amazing manpower; if you talk about the Law School, at one time, all the prize winners were from AAU. Or is it the engineering profession? You can go on and on, because the institution has produced amazing people.
“What you have today in AAU is unacceptable; a situation where you have an association of Esan Professors and those of Afemai Professors in an ivory tower. They have run that school aground.
“The university has been divided down the line; it is like the school is just there for the workers, not the students.”
He continued: “So, as a government, we have decided that AAU must be restructured. AAU is Edo State university; it is not a local university. We must restructure it to meet universal standards. Ambrose Alli’s dream was to make it an internationally-recognized university and that is my dream.
“Can any foreign university come to partner with us like this? So, I have to prepare the school to be an international university, which Ambrose Alli meant it to be.”
“I am pleading for your support for the sake of our children and for the sake of our future. Please, join me; support me, so that we can clean up AAU, because what it has done and what it can do for Esan land and the entire Edo Central Senatorial District, you cannot imagine,” he added.
In his remarks, former Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, assured the governor that the entire Esan people are fully in his support.
