… as Justice Olubunmi Oyewole Talks On Ethical Values, Good Governance And Nation Building
Preparation for the 33rd convocation ceremony of Yaba College of Technology, the first tertiary institution in Nigeria is on top gear. In a press briefing held recently at the college the Rector, Engr Obafemi Omokungbe highlighted some of the activities earmarked for the convocation. According to him, Yaba Technical Institute which later transformed to Yaba College of Technology was established in 1947 to provide technical manpower base for the then emerging Nigerian economy.
“The college since inception has produced graduates who are in enviable positions in all walks of life both in public and private sectors and have contributed immensely to the socio-economic and political development of the nation from the engineering fields to science and technology, environment, and recently in the field of Agriculture and mass communication. These graduates of Yaba College of Technology are making significant impact in the match towards the industrial and technological advancement of Nigeria.” He also revealed that the current graduates from the college has special skills which they got from the compulsory skill acquisition center where every student offer skill of their choice in the college
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Furthermore, he mentioned some of the modest but remarkable achievements and progress recorded under this current administration in an effort to advance the strides towards achieving academic excellence. “I will briefly highlight some:
“We have been able to maintain a fairly stable academic calendar in the last two (2) academic session in pursuit of acceptable academic standards.
“We have improved on physical infrastructure in both in Epe and Yaba campuses of the College. We have completed all the inherited projects and have initiated the construction of new projects.
“Major re-habilitation of two (2) of our hostels has been completed.
“Improved capacity building – over three hundred (300) staff were sponsored for trainings, workshops and conferences apart from those on Tetfund sponsorship.
“Commissioned a water factory project for production of Yabatech bottled water.
“The college also won the Ford Foundation project grant in support of the establishment of a Yaba Art museum.
“The college was selected as I-centre by UNESCO-UNEVOC.
“The college is also one of the two (2) institutions selected for TVET in Africa to mention but a few”
Continuing, the Rector, pointed out that the press conference marks the official announcement of the 33rd convocation ceremonies scheduled for November 15th to 21st, 2019. “The convocation is for the graduating class of 2017/2018 academic session. The ceremony which has a week-long programme commences on Friday, November 15, 2019 with the Jumat service at 1.30 p.m. and an interdenominational thanksgiving service on Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 4.pm.
He equally, announced that the convocation lecture slated for November 18, 2019 will be on the topic: ETHICAL VALUES, GOOD GOVERNANCE AND NATION BUILDING’’ to be delivered by the JUSTICE OLUBUNMI OYEWOLE, a judge of the court of appeal at Yusuf Grillo auditorium.
Moving forward, the Rector, declared that the climax of the ceremonies will come up on Thursday, November 21st, 2019 when a total number of eight thousand, four hundred and eleven (8,411) graduands will be awarded the National and Higher National Diploma of the college. The Distinguished guest of honour at the convocation is the Honorable minister of education, MALLAM ADAMU ADAMU. Other expected guests are the chairman of the Council Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and members of the council, the executive secretary, National Board for Technical Education, official of the federal ministry of education, visiting heads of sister institutions, college fellows and the Alumni association.”
Finally, he appreciated the press for being active partners in the wheel of progress. “Gentlemen of the press, I am indeed delighted to address you on this occasion. As partners, I want to take it for granted that you will do the needful in the coverage of this very important ceremony. We will like to be fully reported to the general public and in particular, our Alumni who we want to count as partners in the development of their alma-mata”
“May I, on behalf of the management, staff and students sincerely express our appreciation for your continued support for the college over the years. We are thankful for the worthy partnership with the college on its journey to achieving excellence through positive reporting of our modest achievements. We shall continue to partner with you for a long time to come. You are therefore enjoined to continue to report us factually and help further project the image of the college for sustainable growth. Once again, I thank you for your attention” he concluded.
