Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi on Friday renamed the Kogi State University
Anyigba, after the late first civilian governor of the state, Prince
Abubakar Audu.
Bello announced the change in the name of the 15- year-old university
during a statewide broadcast to mark his victory at the state
governorship election petition tribunal.
He said that naming the university was the ultimate honour that could be
done to the memory of the late colourful politician who ruled the state
twice as the civilian governor from 1991 to 1993 and 1999 to 2003.
Audu himself established the university in 2001 and named it Prince
Abubakar Audu University but his successor , Alhaji Ibrahim Idris
changed the name to Kogi State University in 2004.
Justifying his decision to restore the university to its original name,
Bello said that Audu laid a solid foundation for the growth and
development of the state
“Today, and as always, I celebrate the life and times of Prince Abubakar Audu, the first Executive Governor of Kogi State.
‘”It is our hope that those who want to lay claim to his legacy will at
least develop the same heart for the growth and development of Kogi
State that he demonstrated through his lifetime,” he said.
According to the governor, an executive bill will soon be forwarded to
the house of assembly to formalise the change in the name of the
university.
Audu, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) in
the Nov. 21, 2015 governorship election in the state, died suddenly on
Nov. 22 when before the result of the election was announced.
The leadership of the APC consequently substituted the name of Audu with
that of Yahaya Bello as the candidate in the supplementary governorship
election held on Dec. 5, 2015.
The governor also used the broadcast to thank the people of the state
for their support and understanding since his assumption of office in
January .
He said that since the five petitions filed against him had been thrown
out for lack of merit, the state was now set to witness a new direction
and accelerated development.
According to Bello, a blueprint of the administration which will kick
start creation of one million jobs for the unemployed youths will be
unveiled by next week.
He called on all those who lost at the tribunal, irrespective of their
political affiliation, to join hands with him to develop the state,
saying “there was no victor, no vanquish.”
( NAN)
