By Sunday Iduh
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has commended the Federal Government (FG) for declaring bandits as terrorists, urging them to include Miyetti Allah group.
He made this known when he played host to the Vice Chancellor, JS Tarka University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Professor Richard Kimbir and the Leader/Director, Centre for Innovation in Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards (CIPESS), Professor Lami Nnamonu at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi.
The governor said the FG should equally carry out reorganisation of security architecture, including recruitment and provision of sophisticated equipments while also giving kudos to FG on the recent move to recruit more security personnel.
He congratulated the university for the achievement of the centre of excellence, stating that out of the several universities, the institution was able to attract the centre while thanking the Vice Chancellor for providing the needed leadership.
Governor Ortom reiterated the commitment of his administration to supporting federal establishments in the state and assured the delegation that in the coming weeks, the government will look into the land issues between the host community and the institution.
“There was need for amicable settlement of the issues as fhe host community is the first beneficiary of the institution,” he stated.
He directed the Secretary to the State Government and Head of Service to laiase with the centre for effective collaboration, as the state look forward to further collaboration with the institution.
Prof. Kimbir disclosed that the aim of the visit was basically to inform the governor of the Centre of Excellence that the University attracted from the World Bank. “The University has also developed improved seedlings for the benefits of farmers in the state,” he stated.
He appealed to the governor to assist the institution so that it can do more and listed some of the challenges being faced by the institution to include encroachment on the university land, some deplorable portion of the university road among others and sought for his intervention.
Centre Leader/Director, Centre for Innovation in Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards (CIPESS), Prof. Lami Nnamonu explained that the university was awarded the right to host a World Bank Centre of Excellence under the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project after a very competitive bid among federal universities in Nigeria.
According to her, “only six universities won this bid, one in each of the six geopolitical zones. Our centre, the Centre for Innovation in Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards (CIPESS) is the hub for the implementation of the project in North Central Nigeria.”
Prof. Nnamonu explained that, “SPESSE project is a partnership betwcen the Federal Government and th World Bank with the National Universities Commission (NUC) as the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) aimed at addressing the huge deficit in qualified and knowledgeable personnel to implement the Procurement Law, in line with international best practices.
“The Centre offers regular and executive short courses, advanced certificate courses, post graduate diploma, bachelors and master’s degree programmes to cater for all cadres of the workforce. We’re looking at mounting PhD courses for sustainability.
“Products of the centre will enable governments at all levels to derive maximum value-for-money in budget implementation, thus greatly improving the standard of living of all citizens,” she stated.
The centre leader sought the governor’s approval for the certification of Benue workforce in batches and advised that heads of units and agencies take advantage of this opportunity, stating that when the centre takes off January 4, 2022, time and space would become critical.