NAUB merger with NDA: PDP chieftain urges Shettima to intervene

A Chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Borno state, Alhaji Idris Mamman Durkwa has urged the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima to quickly use his good office to halt the purported merger of the Nigerian Army University Biu (NAUB) with Nigerian Defense Academy, NDA, Kaduna.

He pointed out that, the directive of Mr. president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for immediate implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye report on mergers, scrapping and restructuring of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs of the federal government is a welcome idea, as it will drastically reduce government’s administrative costs.

Durkwa, who spoke to Vanguard on Monday said, though he is a PDP Chieftain, the matter of NAUB is not political, and therefore fully backed Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state and all other concerned citizens who had earlier appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to merge the University. Adding that, NAUB has already had it’s convocation and currently undergoing various courses smoothly with six Faculties.

Besides, he said, the people of Borno and other states of the North East are mostly educationally disadvantaged, following the over decade Boko Haram crisis that have ruined their economic, educational and social fortunes, stressing that, “downgrading NAUB is like adding salt to the injury”

Durkwa however lamented that, “this directive for downgrading the NAUB, which is an educational institution, will have a serious consequences on the lives and progress of the people in the region, as the federal government cannot compromise the cost of education, which is principal to human capital development.

He added that, merging NAUB with NDA is not justifiable to the people from the catchment area where the University is located, because, according to him, the Oronsaye Report was released in the year 2012, while the NAUB was established by an Act of Parliament in 2018. The PDP Chieftain stressed that, no federal university has been affected by the directive, accept NAUB, which he alleged some mischief.

Durkwa who was one time Gubernatorial Aspirant of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, before moving to the opposition Party, PDP in Borno, recalled that the bill for the establishment of the Nigerian Army University Biu was approved by the National Assembly, where VP Kashim Shettima played a greater role for it’s take off. He again, acknowledge the role Shettima played even when he was the Governor and later Senator, which make the university came to limelight.

Durkwa went further and said, “the VP, is the one who speedily granted the approval of the site and delivered the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of the institution while he hailed sway as Governor of Borno state, and I have the believe that VP will use his good office and intervene in this matter as soon as possible”.

Durkwa however pointed out that, he is optimistic that both (Tinubu and Shettima) would give a listening ear to those pleas for NAUB to maintain its status quo, so as to ensure educational future of the children of Borno State, the northeast and Nigeria in general.