An NGO in Ogun, known as Egba Economic Summit, has thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the siting of University of Medicine in Abeokuta.
This is contained in a statement by the President of the group, Chief Shina Luwoye and made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abeokuta.
Luwoye commended the President for assenting to the bill, first presented to the Senate in 2019.
He also commended the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, for his doggedness in achieving the feat.
“Once again, the sun has shone upon Egbaland; 70 years after we missed the golden opportunity to host the first university in subsaharan Africa, that is the University of Ibadan
“To the glory of God and in recognition of the leadership and astuteness of our Kabiyesi, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, Okukenu IV, we want to thank President Mohammadu Buhari for graciously approving the siting of the Federal University of Medicine and Medical Sciences in the heart of Egbaland for the people of Ogun State and western Nigeria.
“This feat could not have been possible without the efforts of our visionary and astute politicians that have represented us well at the National Assembly.
“Though the bill was first introduced to the National Assembly by Sen. Lanre Tejuosho, however, in the spirit of cooperation that has always existed among Egba people, it is not found anywhere in Nigeria where one Senator will hand over and another one will continue from where he stopped.
“But not only did Sen. Ibikunle Amosun continue this, he financed it personally and to the glory of God, before he completed his current tenure at the Senate, the president assented to the bill and the university now births in Egbaland.
“I must also mention that Sen. Amosun provided a 350 hectares of land; a permanent site for the university. For the first time in Ogun State, a tertiary institution will be taking off on its permanent site,” he said.
Listing some other notable Egba indigenes who made the feat possible, he thanked the Aro of Egbaland, Chief Oluyinka Kufile, “who led a powerful delegation of Egba people to the National Assembly”.
He also thanked the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Prof. Adewale Musa-Olomu, for his immense contributions towards the achievement.
“We must recognise that this man singularly used his office to make sure that all the prerequisites for establishment and assent to that bill were provided,” he said.
Luwoye contended that the university was one of the cardinal objectives of the Egba agenda that the summit had been working assiduously on, while also being a part of the presidential committee for the establishment of the school.
He congratulated all Egba people while calling on them to rally round and pull resources together to make sure the school begins running by 2024.
It will be recalled that the bill for the establishment of the university was introduced to the Senate in 2018 by Sen. Tejuosho, representing Ogun Central between 2015 and 2019.
The bill, which passed the first and second readings at the Senate, was adopted by Sen. Amosun.
approving/NAN…
