By Egbe Attah
Adoka District in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State will soon have a university, as the earlier proposed but delisted Adoka University has been approved with a new name, Bristol City University.
This was revealed by the promoter of the proposed university, Prof. Sunday Adokpela, in Adoka, while speaking with newsmen on Friday.
According to him, “the university which was to be established as Adoka University started its journey in 2008 after I attended an interview with the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja, in company of some other professors where I was granted permission for its establishment.
“However, after undergoing the necessary procedures for the establishment of the institution, NUC declared it illegal and delisted it from the NUC column as it was having issues elating to its former name Adoka University.”
Prof. Adokpela, maintained that having protested through his lawyers and series of investigations by NUC, including meetings with him, an approval for change of name from Adoka University to Bristol City University, Adoka, was arrived at and the final approval for the take-off of the proposed university was duly given by the NUC, Abuja, to start its operation.
The ‘Owujoyi 1 K’Adoka’ said his decision to establish the university is borne out of his desire to bring education to the door steps of his people and also attract development to Adoka kingdom and by extension, Benue State. He appealed to other sons and daughters of the land to join him in his developmental drive.
He said the “name Bristol City University is fashioned after the renowned university in Britain and is prepared to maintain equal standards to enable its professors to go for exchange programmes and sabbatical.
On whether he would close other schools under his conglomerate for the survival of the proposed university, he said all the schools would be run concurrently as the polytechnic would continue to operate under the ambit of National Board for Technical Education, while the proposed university would be under the National University Commission.
The retired military officer, however, stated that “the polytechnic will be awarding only National Diploma certificate and its graduates shall be admitted into the 200 level of the university when it takes off.
The Voice gathered that the implementation committee of the proposed university included His Royal Majesty Prof. James Ayatse, Tor Tiv V and a host of others and that a land has been donated to the promoter by the Adoka Council of Chiefs during the last annual Aj’Alekwu festival.
Recall that Prof. Adokpela had earlier established a secondary school, a polytechnic and college of health technology in Adoka.