19th May, 2024
By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh
The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd (CCECC), on Friday, handed over the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, Katsina state, to the Federal Government.
The state Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda commended former President Muhammadu Buhari for ensuring execution of the project.
Governor Radda thanked Buhari for providing an enabling environment for the smooth construction of the Federal University of Transportation in Daura.
He assured the institution’s management of the state government’s support at all times.
He urged youth in the state to embrace the opportunity by applying to study in the university.
He said: “You have done very well by building this very big infrastructure in my state during my tenure. We thank and appreciate you. We call upon all other companies given this opportunity by our government, both national and sub-national, to learn from this and provide Corporate Social Responsibility to the host communities.”
The university, which cost about $50 million, was constructed by CCECC as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to support the Federal Government’s efforts in developing qualified manpower and managing railway facilities across the country.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari held the groundbreaking ceremony of the university in 2019.
Speaking during the handing-over ceremony in Abuja, the Chairman of CCECC, Liu Weimin, said the university was part of the firm’s modest ways of giving back to Nigeria and helping in the technical advancement of the country.
According to him, the project created about 1000 jobs during construction, adding that many technical exchange programmes were also conducted.
“The company has a strong sense of Corporate Social Responsibility and
accompanies their values, diligence in integrity and perseverance. CCECC has overcome many obstacles such as the COVID-19 pandemic for the timely delivery of this high- quality project.
“Now, I am so delighted to see that young Nigerians could pursue their academic studies at this university. I believe, in the shortest time the university itself will become a beacon of progress in the development of the country, especially in the transportation sector, and a milestone of the modernisation of the nation.
“Give a man a fish and you feed him a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. As a vivid example of CCCC implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. I strongly believe that this university will serve as a crucial cornerstone for the modernisation of transportation infrastructure in Nigeria,” he said.
Minister of Transportation, Senator Saidu Alkali, said the institution is unique in form, standard and structure, adding that it has also satisfied the requirements of the National University Commission (NUC), which attracted enactment of the Establishment Act number 34 of 2020.
He recalled the infrastructure and logistic challenge that hindered the initial take-off of the university, saying the identified infrastructural gaps prompted collaborative efforts with key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education, NUC, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Alkali commended the firm for the, “marvellous undertaking in support of educational development in Nigeria and their further initiative to hand over the university to the Ministry of Transportation for operation by management of the university.”