The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has said the four new federal tertiary institutions sited in his constituency, Zaria, will cost about N80 billion before completion.
Abbas said this on Sunday at the commencement of the construction of the Federal College of Education, College of Health Sciences, National Open University campus, and College of Legal Studies in Zaria.
The member representing the Zaria federal constituency of Kaduna said these projects he attracted will be completed within one and half year for the tertiary institutions to take off.
“Of the four institutions we are bringing on board, we are giving ourselves the target of one year and six months to complete all these projects. These are projects that, at completion level, will gulp not less than N80 billion, and we are ready to find means and ways of sourcing funds because this is what will raise the soul of Zaria and Kaduna State.
“The idea or conceptualisation of these four noble projects came from the realisation that Zaria has only been known for one thing since ancient times. Zaria is not known for commerce, and Zaria is not known for industry, but Zaria is known in Nigeria and everywhere in the world as a centre of learning.
“So, there is no befitting gift that you can give to the people of Zaria and to Kaduna state rather than consolidating in an area where it has been known for a long time, and that is to create more and more institutions that will complement the other ones that we have within the ancient city.
“One of them is the issue of the health sector. We do not have enough qualified nurses and midwives in Kaduna State. We believe that Kaduna State will produce more health workers, which is why we decided, among many other alternatives, to establish a Federal College of Nursing here in Zaria.
“We also realise that with the upgrade of Federal College of Education (to a University of Education), Kaduna state will not have any federal institution in charge of teaching or producing teachers of at least Nigeria Certificate of Education level.
“That is one of the reasons we felt that Zaria should at least continue to maintain or have an institution that will be dedicated to training the manpower required in our primary and junior secondary schools.
“We have a lot of elders, workers in Zaria, who for one reason or the other, cannot go to a formal institution to learn because of the exigencies of their work. That is why we felt that the National Open University campus in Zaria will be of great importance to our teeming population here.
“Last but not least is the College of Legal Studies, which, again, from investigation and research, we discovered that Zaria and Kaduna State are still lagging behind in terms of legal experts.
That informed our decision to also build the Federal College of Legal Studies in Zaria,” he said.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony and construction, the Governor of Kaduna state, Senator Uba Sani, commended Speaker Abbas for attracting the N80 billion worth of four tertiary institutions of learning to Zaria.
“Only the Rt Hon. Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, can facilitate projects worth N80bn to Zaria. Interventions like these are unprecedented and will create opportunities for our teeming citizens and complement the efforts of the Kaduna State Government.
“These projects, when completed, will greatly benefit the good people of Zaria Local Government and Kaduna State.
Rt Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has demonstrated commitment to the progress and development of Kaduna State over the years.
“He (Abbas) has initiated and facilitated projects aimed at improving the conditions of the poor, vulnerable and underserved in Kaduna State. We are proud of him,” Governor Sani said.