Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has renamed the state-owned Technical University (Tech U), Ibadan, after his predecessor, the late Abiola Ajimobi.

Mr Makinde announced the change of the institution’s name during its second convocation held at the University Hall, Tech U, on  Friday.

According to the governor, who is the Visitor to the university, the institution has made tremendous progress from its humble beginnings.

“Looking at this, today is a good day to honour my predecessor, who established the university.

“So, we have made the decision to rename this university as Sen. Abiola Ajimobi First Technical University, Ibadan,” Mr Makinde announced.

He added that his administration would put the Governing Council of the institution in place before the end of April.

He equally approved a “Category 3 Primary Health Centre” for the university.

He stated that the facility would provide continuous and comprehensive care for the students and the entire members of staff of the institution.

He commended the efforts of the management and urged the graduands to be good ambassadors of the university and Oyo State.

Speaking on some of his administration’s  achievements in the education sector, Mr Makinde said access to education, including university education, has improved.

He further stated that his administration had increased the number of universities owned by Oyo State to three from one and a half universities in 2019.

He added that since 2019, there had been an improvement in the ranking of Oyo State in the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Adesola Ajayi, said that out of 165 graduating students, 24 graduated with First Class; 76 with Second Class Honours (upper division); 52 graduated with Second Class honours (lower division) while 13 others graduated with Third Class.

Mr Ajayi added that the university had been providing opportunities to less privileged students in the state to receive tertiary education.

He said the governor’s presence had given a great encouragement to the entire university community, more importantly, to the pioneer Engineering graduates and those coming behind them.

He said that the governor’s achievements over the years had further helped to break the glass ceiling for young people and encouraged them to aspire to be whoever they dream to be.

He lauded the Makinde-led administration for the support it has given to the institution, saying the school management had equally repaid the trust by sustaining commitment to adopt global best practices.

(NAN)