UNILAG, CBN GRAPPLE WITH LAND RECLAMATION, SEEK FG’S ATTENTION 

Contrary to expectations of a possible abandonment of the construction of 8-storey 5 star hostel accommodation by the Central Bank of Nigeria at University of Lagos, Akoka campus work has continued.
Fears heightened on the construction of the 8-storey faculty building shortly after the former CBN Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido under whose tenure the project was approved resigned from office in a controversial manner.
The twin project, when completed, the Faculty building will have a basement, car park, office spaces, lecture rooms, libraries, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities and rooftop space for relaxation among others while the Five-Star Hostel will have 150 single occupancy rooms, 50 double occupancy rooms, a gym, laundry, meeting rooms, restaurant, and the rooftop relaxation facility.
The two buildings would be fully equipped with state of the art technology and constructed to ensure accessibility by physically challenged individuals.
A lull observed at the project site shortly after the ex-CBN Governor resigned has changed as workmen were seen at the site working during the minister’s impact assessment tour of federal government owned institution in Lagos State.
Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Rahamon Bello in his during a visit by the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau to the university within the past week informed the minister of the various challenges facing the 52 year.
According to the VC top among issues of immediate concern to the university is the paucity of funds that had affected effective maintenance of structures and infrastructure at the first Generation University.
He solicited the assistance of the Minister in securing funding from the Ecological Fund Office for land reclamation from the lagoon.
Addressing the minister further during the impact assessment tour of the state, Bello said that the reclamation had become necessary because the school did not have any land left for infrastructural development due its proximity to the lagoon.
“We need to start massive land reclamation from the lagoon; we have approached the Ecological Fund Office for help but it has not yielded results. We seek your intervention in this regard; we spend a lot of money guarding the waterfront because we cannot have more land acquired.’’
Buttressing his request, the VC said sand pilling on the 8-storey had been enormous and completed while on the sand pilling of the 7-storey ultra-modern hostel has commenced.
Lamenting on the inadequacy of dry land and paucity of funds facing the institution, Bello explained that this had resulted in poor maintenance of the existing structures.
He said to cushion and arrest the situation, the university has adopted the city university design whereby all new structures on the campus would be 12 floors in order to maximise the available land, saying that implication it meant that execution of projects would gulp more money and intervention from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Explaining the negative impact of the land constraints as it affects students’ accommodation, the VC said of the 57,183 populations of students, the institution could only provide bed spaces for less than 10, 000 of its students.
He said that the university was established in 1962 with only three faculties now runs 83 programmes in 12 faculties, adding that as the number was increasing that had not been corresponding rise and expansion of infrastructure to adequately cater for the huge student population.
Shekarau, who said government as the government has demonstrated the will to increase access to education for a good number of Nigerian, assured that the quality of such education would be adequately protected.
He added that since there was no limit to growth, there would always be the challenge of access and the need to expand infrastructure would always be there to tackle.
The minister assured that the act that establishes the TETFund had been amended to cater for growing infrastructure needs of education at the tertiary level.
Daily Independent sighted the discharge of pre-fabricated concrete beams at the swampy work yard of Quintec Construction Limited, the contractor handing project meant for delivery in four years.
The project when completed will open up the university environment with an access road from the St. Finbarrs Road, in Bariga Local Council Development Area, LCDA, to the institution. The road, it was learnt, would reduce traffic at the university’s main gate as well as provide quicker entry from the Bariga axis.