Unedited:
FULL SPEECH OF HIS EXCELLENCY, ALH YAHAYA BELLO AT THE EBIRA YOUTH CONGRESS EYC EDUCATIONAL SUMMIT.
Chairman of this occasion, members of the high table, members of the press, distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
I am standing here today to represent His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya AdozaBello who is unavoidably absent as he is currently in Abuja attending to a National assignment that is pertinent to the development of our dear state. He particularly asked me to deliver his apology to the chairman of the occasion, members of the high table, the EYC, and the entire people of Ebiraland. He said that the issues that touch the development of our land, Ebira nation, come first in his heart being the Governor of the state and he couldn’t have taken that for granted.
His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kogi State has deemed it wise to establish the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH) in Osara to be able to train our youths, that is his way of giving back to the land he loves and respect. There is this popular saying that the youths are the leaders of tomorrow, Kogi State today with the leadership of His Excellency, I don’t think that is the case anymore, if I am standing here as the Chief of Staff and I am a youth, then our tomorrow is today.
As a Governor who means well for his people and the fact that God has blessed our land with natural endowment, the Ajaokuta Steel Company under the tutelage of our brother here, Engr. Abdul Akaba, His Excellency is fully committed and has been working hard to make sure Ajaokuta comes to life. He knows that when Ajaokuta kickstarts, we will be needing manpower to fill the company, and then he decided to birth the University of Science and Technology in Osara.
During the chairman’s remarks, he did mention that His Excellency should create an enabling condition for the development of our youth, I think the birth of CUSTECH alone has done more than 70% in giving our youths enabling condition. I cannot mention the Confluence University of Technology without mentioning the role of academicians from Ebiraland who formed the Technical Committee that gave birth to CUSTECH;
i. Professor Muhammad Salihu Audu, the former VC of FUTMinna was the chairman of that Technical Committee,
ii. Professor Yakubu Kokori Eneyamire Ibrahim of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a member of that committee,
iii. Engr. Professor Salawu Sadiku FUTMinna is a member of that committee, Prof Adam Abere is also a member,
iv. Professor Saratu Mamman University of Abuja is a member of that Technical Committee,
v. Pharmacist Mamman Asuku Audu of the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) is a member of that committee,
vi. Engr. Prof. Abdulsamad Asipita Salawu is a member,
vii. Engr. Dr. Mohammad Tajudeen Jimoh is a member,
viii. Engr. Ashraf A. Ahmad is a member,
ix. Engr Ibrahim Zubair,
x. Alh. Sani Kabiru and
xi. Dr. Ohieku Kabiru Abawukaka.
Please, help me appreciate them. These worthy academicians worked tirelessly, day and night, because of their love and belief in the development of our youths. They came out with all the documents needed to forward to NUC to give the approval needed for the establishment of Confluence University of Technology (CUSTECH), may God continue to bless them.
During the remarks of the Chief Host, he made mention of the ASUU Strike calling on the Federal Government to attend to the issue such that our youth can go back to school, I would like to say that the issue of ASUU Strike is a thing of the past in Kogi State courtesy of the purposeful leadership of His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello. He is a gift to Ebira nation and knows where the problem lies, whoever pays tuition for their child to go to the University will definitely be expecting to graduate within a stipulated time and that is why we confronted ASUU head-on in our first tenure by proscribing it, and today our institutions are all advancing. This is also why the issue of END SARS protests was not well pronounced in Kogi State because it is the strike that created that lacuna of students sitting down idle at home was available to splash into the street to protest END SARS. Our students were in school all through aside from Federal University Lokoja and some who took to the street and His Excellency, as the leader of the youths, attended to them and addressed the issue in Kogi State.
His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello is a practical leader who matches his words into action, he knows very well having placed CUSTECH, there will be a need to train our graduates and deserted youths to attain the prerequisite knowledge to be able to lecture in Confluence University of Science and Technology. This is the major reason why he keys behind this initiative of EYC to launch the Ebira Educational Trust Fund for the development of our youths. As we all know, education is the hallmark of the development of any society.
His Excellency is using this opportunity to call on the illustrious sons and daughters of Ebiraland both home and diaspora to key into the program initiated by EYC put your money to invest in the future of our youth so that tomorrow we can beat our chest that we are part of history that built our youth.
Without much ado, His Excellency has directed that I launch this on his behalf and his immediate family with N100,000,000 million naira.
To His Excellency, leadership is a thing of time, he is here today and he is saying for the academic session 2020/21 he is donating N100,000,000 and another N100,000,000 for 2021/22 academic session and another N100,000,000 for the 2022/23 academic session which makes it a total sum of N300,000,000.
For those of us who His Excellency has deemed it fit to join him in this assignment of serving, those of us from Kogi Central Senatorial District under the leadership of our leader Engr. Abubakar Sadiku Ohere, we will be donating 5% of our monthly salary to the foundation for the 20/21, 21/22, 22/23 academic sessions.
Having done this, we are calling on the youths of Ebira nation to hold this project, this money will go into the training of our youths, only those who deserve to be trained, those who position themselves, it is not an open empowerment program where you just come and take money. This is why the Board of Trustees will be formed and there will be checks and balances. The basic idea behind this is to train youths that will work in Ajaokuta Steel Company and lecture in CUSTECH.
We know Ebiraland is currently suffering from a great moral degradation ranging from cultism, abuse of substance as well as all other social vices, I urge EYC and all other bodies in Ebira nation to take it upon themselves to preach against cultism, drug abuse in our land.
On a personal note, I have a foundation, Pharm. Abdulkareem Asuku Youth Empowerment Foundation (PAAYEF) which is into youth empowerment and majorly on health and education and there is no how this program will come on air and the foundation will not be part, so the foundation will be donating a Sienna bus to EYC to help them mobilize and go about their activities.
Also, we will build the Teaching Hospital of the Confluence University of Technology in Okene, by the time we are done with Central Reference Hospital in Okene, it will be mistaken for a hotel because His Excellency will bring in world-class equipment and all other aesthetic value to it. There will also be a clinical school close to the teaching hospital in Okene. All these are for the youth, and we are calling on the youths to create an enabling environment for us to do more for our people.
On behalf of His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello I accept this award from the leadership of the Ebira Youth Congress (EYC) and I am dedicating this award to the blessed mother of His Excellency, Hajia Hauwa Bello, the woman that taught His Excellency the virtues of leadership that made him merit this award today and may she continue to rest in peace.
Thank you and God Bless.
