Dikko Radda, the governor of Katsina, has approved over N340 million to restore electricity at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYUK).

NAN reports that Abdullahi Aliyu-Yar’adua, the press director at the office of the secretary to the state government (SSG), spoke on Saturday.

Aliyu-Yar’adua said the governor has approved the immediate release of the fund for two separate electricity projects in the university.

“Firstly, the replacement of a 33KVA indoor control panel and other accessories which supply power to the school at the cost of over N260 million, and also the installation of solar security lights awarded at the cost of over N98 million,” he said.

Aliyu-Yar’adua said the decision by the state government aims to address incidents of vandalism and insecurity in the university.

He said Abdullahi Faskari, the SSG who made the announcement, disclosed that the approval was a swift response by the governor to restore a conducive atmosphere of learning and other activities in the institution.

Aliyu-Yar’adua quoted the SSG as saying: “Gov. Radda is concerned about the recent report of power outage which affected the university, hence, the directives to fix it with immediate effect.

“Radda appreciated the various efforts of the management and the understanding exhibited by the staff and students of the university while trying to restore the power supply.”

Earlier, the UMYUK had extended its mid-semester break following issues associated with electricity supply to the university.

“The university’s senate has, at its special meeting, reviewed the progress made on the repairs of electricity supply to the university, which apparently shows that the earlier date given for resumption, Monday, Sept. 16, is not tenable,” it had said.

“In view of the above reality and as state government is working to address the fault, the university senate finds it expedient to suspend the resumption until the electricity supply is fully restored.”

Ikanna Okim, the daughter of ace journalist Sunny Okim, has been offered a full scholarship to study at Oxford.

In 2021, Okim graduated with first-class honours in Law at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO).

She was reported to have set a record at UNIUYO as the first student in 36 years to achieve the feat.

In the following year, Ikanna also graduated with a first class at the Nigerian Law School.

Speaking in a recent interview, Ikanna revealed that she has been offered full scholarship admission to study at Oxford in London.

She is to study at the UK university as an Oxford-Hackney BCL graduate scholar.

Ikanna said she intends to acquire her PhD in corporate and commercial law after her master’s programme at Oxford.

“This would mean burning the midnight candle, doing your tasks diligently, and being genuinely interested in what you’re studying,” she said.

Okim said her childhood experience contributed to her academic success.

“I had a fantastic upbringing. I tell people all the time that I was raised with intentionality,” she said.

“My parents did things to task our minds and help us think independently and critically.

“Growing up, we would read newspapers and explain what we read to my dad.

“Remember, my dad is an astute journalist and writer. We had intensive yet fun ways of learning things beyond our age.

“I believe that it helped our curiosity and our ability to understand complex things.”

Ikanna opened up about her academic works and upcoming books.

She named her family members and lecturers at the university as her inspiration.

“It has taken a village to build the woman I am now,” she said.

Ikanna’s father Sunny is the publisher of The Frontier, an online newspaper in Nigeria.

The Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH) in Okitipupa Ondo state has gotten regulatory approval to run an undergraduate programme in petroleum and gas engineering.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) also approved five other programmes including chemical engineering, economics, public administration, public health and medical laboratory science for the institution’s 2024/2025 session.

Temi Ologunorisa, OAUSTECH’s vice-chancellor, spoke to journalists on Friday in Okitipupa.

Ologunorisa said a resource verification visit was carried out by a panel of experts for some proposed programmes at the university.

He said the visit was to assess the human and material resources available for the establishment of those academic programmes.

The vice-chancellor said the approval was conveyed to the university via a letter dated September 6 and signed by Abubakar Gerei, NUC’s acting director of academic planning.

“I am directed to inform the vice-chancellor that the Ag. the executive secretary has considered and approved the establishment of the full-time mode of the following programmes to be run in the university with effect from the 2024/2025 academic session,” the letter reads.

“The newly approved programmes include B.Eng. Chemical Engineering, B.Eng. Petroleum and Gas Engineering within the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology; BSc Economics and BSc Public Administration in the School of Management Sciences.

“As well as B. Medical Laboratory Science (B.MLS) and BSc Public Health in the School of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences.

“The approval from NUC to launch these new courses is the culmination of a resource verification evaluation conducted by the regulatory body in July to confirm the institution’s preparedness to introduce the proposed programmes.”

Ologunorisa, while speaking on the results of the verification assessment, encouraged prospective students to consider OAUSTECH as their primary choice of educational institution.