Prof Wahab Egbewole
The Vice-Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole says Public Universities in Nigeria are not revenue generating agencies against the belief in some quarters that Public universities are expected to generate and remit revenue to the Federation account like other revenue generating agencies.
Egbewole disclosed this at his residence in Ilorin the Kwara State capital while hosting Journalists and students union executives of the institution to an annual Iftar (breaking of Ramadan fast) over the weekend.
According to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole, public universities in the country are not revenue generating agencies, they only charge students for few services provided on their identification cards, internet services and hostel accomodations, adding that University of Ilorin spends about one hundred and thirty million naira on a monthly basis to maintain its electricity services within the campus alone, a huge cost he says no public varsity can generate internally.
Egbewole however maintained that UNILORIN is being repositioned to be self-sustaining as it is the essence of academic, adding that federal government is already addressing the issues of the earlier proposal of 25 or 40% remittances from the public universities.
The VC hinted on the institution’s moves into real value-addition farming on its arable campus land.
While insisting that public universities are not meant to generate revenues for government, the Vice-Chancellor is of the view that all public institutions must be able to think outside the box so as to be self-sustaining.
