The recent 100 percent accreditation achieved by all five state-owned tertiary institutions in Kogi, according to a group operating under the auspices of the Kogi Coalition for Education (KCE), can be attributed to Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello’s significant capital investment in the field of education.
Exactly six years ago, when he first took office, he pledged to make education a priority for his government. At that time, he had already begun the process of doing so.
a press release issued by the organization’s president Usman Musa and secretary general Gbenga Muyiwa.
The declaration stated that, true to his vow and priority, the investment had started to produce results in earnest with the success of the institutions with the Regulatory bodies.
The President declared that leaders should be committed to the sector of education because it is the cornerstone of any society’s development. Gov. Bello exemplified this commitment by allocating 30% of his budget to it, setting a record that no other governor had previously achieved.
He claimed that when Governor Yahaya Bello first began thinking about what he wanted to accomplish for the people of Kogi state, it was because he realised the crucial role that education plays in society.
The 100 percent accreditation of the courses offered in all of her higher educational institutions was the culmination of this carefully focused effort to make the State-owned institutions a shining example to other states.
“At a press conference to announce the sixth convocation of Prince Abubakar Audu University, formerly known as Kogi State University, Ayingba, in January of this year, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Marietu Tenuche said all 48 of the university’s courses have received full accreditation from the Nigerian Universities Commission, marking the first time ever since the institution’s founding.
Out of the 170 public and private universities in Nigeria that have full accreditation for all of the courses they offer, the Vice-Chancellor noted that the institution came in at number 25. This is in addition to the achievement of 100% accreditation of all courses.
The state-owned Lokoja Polytechnic also celebrated the accomplishment of having all of its courses fully accredited.
When Dr. Salisu Ogbo, the institution’s rector, recently went to see Mr. Wemi Jones, the commissioner of education for Kogi State, to deliver the findings of the accreditation of all of the institution’s courses by NBTE, he announced the success.
“I’m proud to announce that Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja achieved 100% success at the recent accreditation exercise,” he said, referring to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
He credited the governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, for his dedication to advancing education in the state for the event’s resounding success.
The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), another regulatory body, found the two state-owned colleges of education, College of Education Ankpa and College of Education Technical, Kabba, to be fully deserving of accreditation for the programmes they provide, according to the statement.
It is the first time in the college’s history that all courses have been fully accredited, according to Professor Muhammed Kabiru Ibrahim, provost of the College of Education at Ankpa.
The provost revealed that, of the 32 courses submitted to the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), every one of them had received full accreditation. The provost also stated that the accreditation for every course would be good from 2022 to 2027.
Apart from the accreditation of the College’s courses, Prof. Mohammed noted that the NCCE also examined the College’s infrastructure and governance, resulting in the College receiving full institutional accreditation.
When the college’s courses were last submitted for accreditation in 2012, only 9 of the 29 courses submitted at that time received full accreditation, according to the speaker.
The Provost claimed that without the support of Gov. Bello, the College would not have been able to achieve its goal of having full accreditation for all 32 courses offered. The Governor had given his approval for the hiring of academic staff to fill any existing gaps.
He continued by saying that the Governor had also released funds for the purchase of furniture, chemicals, reagents, and books for the classroom, which had prompted the college to invite the Commission for the accreditation.
“Of the 17 courses offered at the College got full accreditation in 2017, a year into Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration,” the statement on the College of Education Technical, Kabbaaccreditation ,’s status reads.
The Provost, Mrs. Olusola Victoria Jagboro, who praised Governor Yahaya Bello for finishing ten buildings at the permanent site, claimed that the donation of a bus has made it easier for students and staff to travel.
The Governor established the Confluence University of Science and Technology, (CUSTECH), Osara in the year 2020 and appointed a renowned engineer and academic per excellence, Professor Sadiku Salawu as the Vice Chancellor. According to the group’s president, the Governor was irritated by the discrepancy between the number of Kogi indigenes seeking admission annually and the number that got admitted.
“In just its first two years of operation, the university has helped close the admissions gap for local applicants as well as those from neighbouring states.
Presently, there are nineteen courses being offered at the university’s three faculties, all of which have received the proper approval from the Nigeria Universities Commission.
Examining the situation, the group acknowledged that the Governor has consistently provided significant resources to colleges of nursing and the School of Health Technology in Idah, both of which provide training in the health sector.
For the first time since its inception 43 years ago, the College successfully obtained full accreditation for four of its five programmes.
Four out of the college’s five departments have been fully accredited, according to the Provost, Dr. Nuhu Solomon Anyegwu. The letter of full accreditation was received by the college on Thursday from the Registrar of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN).
He claimed that the Medical Laboratory Department, the Community Health Department, and the Health Information Management Department all had full accreditation after five years, four years, and respectively (5 years).
Despite not yet receiving initial provisional accreditation status, the Pharmacy Technician Department has already been given permission to admit students, he continued.
Accreditation by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) was still pending for the final programme, which is the School of Environmental Health.
The provost thanked Governor Yahaya Bello for coming as a guest and for his contributions to the college in particular.
Additionally, the government’s investment in the education sector benefited the state college of nursing in Obangede.
His excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello, according to the institution’s provost, Mrs. Hannah Abraham, was responsible for the institution’s full accreditation in 2018.
She claims that the College won’t be visited by the regulatory body again for five years after the accreditation was granted.
Mrs. Abraham commended the Governor Bello administration’s efforts to transform the college’s infrastructure, which enabled it to overcome accreditation challenges.
The Group has praised Gov. Bello in the meantime for fostering an environment that allowed the academic calendar at her tertiary institutions to be stable.
“In Kogi, a student may disclose his or her year of graduation and the exact day of admission into any state-owned higher education institution.
Yet upon taking office, the government inherited the ongoing strikes by academic and non-academic Unions in the tertiary institutions. Even worse, some of these protests were sympathy strikes organised by unions in support of their national organisations over problems unrelated to the state-owned institutions.
The Governor was forced to issue a proclamation prohibiting all Union activities in July 2017 in order to lessen the disaster being inflicted on the defenceless students.
The Group acknowledged that this has made the state’s higher education institutions very competitive, with students from even nearby states vying for admission because they know they will graduate in a flash.
