ON Tuesday, February 11, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Federal Government to take over NOK University, located in Kachia, Kaduna State.
He directed that the university be renamed the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.
He also tasked the minister of education to ensure the university is captured in the 2025 budget to enable the institution to commence operations in September this year.
The directives were contained in a statement issued by Vice President Kashim Shettima’s media office on Tuesday.
Shetima, who received the university’s documents from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on behalf of Tinubu, said the president’s action was in fulfilment of his promise to the people of southern Kaduna.
What to know about the university
- A Federal High Court in Abuja had in June 2022 ordered the interim forfeiture of all the university’s assets. It agreed that the assets were acquired with public funds as claimed by the prosecutor – the EFCC.
- On June 7, 2024, the court ordered a final forfeiture of the university.
- A former director of finance and Accounts (DFA) in the Federal Ministry of Health, Anthony Hassan, stole public funds to build the institution, according to the EFCC, and as upheld by the court.
- Hassan was a director of finance at the Federal Ministry of Health between 2016 and 2019.
- Affected physical assets of the university include the Senate building, ICT building, Faculty of Medicine building, Science Deanery building, two Academic buildings, a Faculty Hall and other buildings.
- Other properties traced to Hassan which were also forfeited are Gwasmyen Water Factory, Gwasmyen Event Center and Gwasmyen International Hotel in Kaduna.
- The university parades itself as the first indigenous private university in Kaduna State.
- The school was registered in Nigeria under the Company and Allied Matters Acts of 1990, with registration No: RC.1617510.
- It has its permanent site at Kachia town in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State, occupying 109 hectares.
- It has four faculties, namely the Faculty of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Computing, and Research.
- Ishaya Nock, a professor, was the school’s vice-chancellor and Obadiah Joshua was its registrar until it was forfeited.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org
Good development, let EFCC widen it search light to other place to recover more stolen public Treasury