Produces 31 First Class graduates, other 235 graduates,conducts maiden convocation Saturday.
By Dada Ahmed.
The Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara, Kogi State,on Thursday held a historic press briefing to mark its maiden convocation, with the Vice-Chancellor, Engr. Prof. Abdulrahman Asipita Salawu, announcing unprecedented institutional growth while raising an alarm over serious land encroachment threatening the university’s future.
Addressing journalists at the university campus in Osara, Prof. Abdulrahman Asipita Salawu said the convocation was not just a ceremony but a public testimony to the “faith, vision, and massive investment” of the Kogi State Government and the larger educational community that believed in the CUSTECH dream from inception.
The Vice-Chancellor recalled that the university was established in August 2020 by former Governor Yahaya Bello to address the limited higher education opportunities available to Kogi youths. Just five years later, he said, CUSTECH had transformed from a young institution into one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing universities.
From its humble beginning with two faculties and 11 programmes, Prof. Salawu announced that CUSTECH now boasts 57 accredited academic programmes spread across 44 departments, eight faculties, and one college, with over 5,000 students currently enrolled.
He highlighted the university’s strategic focus on science, engineering, computing, and health sciences as core drivers of innovation and development for Kogi State, Nigeria, and the global knowledge economy. “We are training creators of opportunities, not just seekers of jobs,” he emphasized.
Our Correspondent report that a key revelation at the briefing was the detailed breakdown of the convocation statistics.
According to the Vice Chancellor,the university is graduating 132 pioneer students and 134 second-set graduates, with an impressive 31 of them earning First Class honours,an achievement the Vice-Chancellor described as “a clear indicator of academic quality and student determination.”
Prof Salawu showcased CUSTECH’s strong partnerships with top technical and industrial institutions such as NASENI’s PEEMADI, the Nigeria-Korea Friendship Institute, NIOMCO, Ajaokuta Steel Company, and international engineering software providers under the NSE–MIDAS IT partnership valued at $17.4 million.
8. Prof. Salawu further highlighted massive infrastructural development projects, many of which he said were funded by TETFund and the Kogi State Government.
These include faculty buildings, lecture theatres, laboratories, hostels, road networks, engineering complexes, digital infrastructure, and a functioning 33KVA power supply line from Okene.
The Vice Chancellor, however,however, raised alarm bordering on encroachment on the university’s land, adding that out of the 400 hectares allocated to CUSTECH, only 100 hectares have been fenced, leaving the remaining 300 vulnerable to illegal occupation by land grabbers.
He warned that CUSTECH will not fold its arms while public educational land is unlawfully taken over the Vice-Chancellor warned.
The Vice Chancellor called on the Kogi State Government, traditional rulers, and development partners to support the immediate fencing of the entire 400 hectares to protect ongoing and future academic projects as well as security of the university community.
Other challenges he highlighted include inadequate hostel accommodation, lack of banking services on campus, absence of staff housing, the urgent need for a pedestrian bridge across a major access road, and lack of a tractor for agricultural research—all of which he said the university is working proactively to address.
Prof. Salawu unveiled the CUSTECH Endowment Fund, with generous award pledges from council members and senior officials, and expressing gratitude to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, former Governor Yahaya Bello, governing council members, staff, students, and partners for their roles in shaping the university’s fast-rising profile.
He affirmed the institution’s commitment to becoming a world-class hub of science, innovation, and problem-solving.
