In line with the directive of President Mohammadu Buhari, the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has charged Universities and other Nigerian tertiary institutions to find creative ways of exploiting the existing Public-Private partnership policy to meaningfully bridge the infrastructure gaps on their campuses.

He made the remark at the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU Ile Ife at the inauguration of rehabilitation projects at the faculty of Science, sponsored by an alumnus of the institution, Dr Akintoye Akin dele.

Represented by the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria NAN, Mr Buki Ponle, the Information Minister noted that despite huge efforts of the government to meet the facility needs of the tertiary institutions, a discernable gap still existed across the institutions.

Alhaji Mohammed said, “coming at a time of grave economic challenges resulting in many tertiary institutions contending with diverse challenges, including the dearth of infrastructure, this heartening development between a university community and a good corporate citizen is to all intents and purposes, soul-lifting.”

He described the unveiling ceremony as a celebration of a good corporate citizen as well as a pointer to the limitless opportunities offered by close collaboration between government and the private sector to drive growth and development across sectors and institutions in the country.

He charged other players in the private sector that they must drive corporate social responsibility initiatives which would impact positively the communities where they are doing business.

The Minister called on all members of the Obafemi Awolowo University community, particularly the students, to take ownership of the structures and ensure they do not return to the decrepit state they were before the intervention by Platform Capital.

in a remark, the sponsor of the renovation, Dr Akintoye Akindele argued that anyone that attended a public university in Nigeria was indebted to the institutions and the nation at large.

“I am just paying part of my debt. All of us who attended these schools and enjoyed this infrastructure today take our children to foreign institutions and private schools without any attempt to give back to the schools that made us.

A traditional ruler who is also an alumnus of OAU, the Orangun of Oke Ile, Oba Adedokun Abolarinwa expressed the hope that Nigeria would overcome the current challenges confronting all sectors of her national life if all citizens would play their own role without shifting responsibility.

Earlier, in an address of welcome, the host Vice-Chancellor of OAU, Professor Eyitayo Ogunmodede was full of gratitude to the donour, Dr Akintoye Akindele, saying he has invested positively in the academic welfare of the coming generations.

Six lectures theaters cutting across various departments in the Faculty of Sciences of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile– Ife were renovated and equipped with modern facilities.