President Bola Tinubu, on Friday announced the reversal of the implementation of payment of 40 percent of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from Nigerian Universities to the Federal Government.
President Tinubu made the announcement at the 75th anniversary and 2023 Convocation ceremonies of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, who represented Tinubu at the event, said the Ministry of Finance had been engaged to stop the implementation of the circular.
Tinubu reiterated its commitment to the education sector in line with the 2030 education agenda of the government and African Union goal 2063.
He said: “We know that this law was enacted in 2020 and the circular was issued in 2021, but this is not a good time for such a policy.
“The Federal Government is bringing in more innovation to reform the entire education sector for curriculum review at all levels from primary to basic education with the reintroduction of skills to attend to out-of-school menace.”
The president noted that the introduction of students’ loans was to ensure that no students were left out of education due to poverty.
Tinubu stated that he was aware of the problem of industrial disputes of the past, hence his administration would pay attention to issues of welfare and all factors generating industrial disputes.
On his part, the Chancellor of UI and Emir of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar congratulated the university for its notable achievements in the last 75 years.
Abubakar said the celebration also called for reflection on the impact of the university on the communities as knowledge from the universities must benefit the communities and Nigeria through quality research.
The royal father said public service had failed compared to what obtained 50 years ago, adding that universities must rise up to salvage the state of public service through quality graduates.
Earlier in his address, the Vice Chancellor of the university , Prof. Kayode Adebowale charged the graduands not to rest on their oars.
Adebowale noted that a total of 6865 graduands received first degrees in various disciplines across 17 faculties, 2842 received Academic Masters Degree, 131 postgraduate Diplomas and 25 Master of Philosophy.
The VC said a total of 722 graduands from various disciplines were awarded Doctor of Philosophy degrees and Prof Mayowa Owolabi was awarded Doctor of Science, a higher doctorate degree.
“The university will not relent in its resolve to be the flagship of postgraduate studies in the nation,” Adebowale said.