The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, FUTES, Iyin-Ekiti, Prof. James Aribisala, has commended President Bola Tinubu for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, he described NELFUND as “one of the greatest developments” in Nigeria’s university education, noting it is giving children from low-income families access to university. “A good number of our students are already benefiting from NELFUND funding,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor also announced a N1 billion research pledge by Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, for FUTES over the next five years, at N200m annually. He said a Senate Committee has been set up to vet staff proposals.
On research, Aribisala disclosed that FUTES secured a competitive National Research Fund, NRF, grant in its first academic session. The university has also established multidisciplinary research groups and is finalising an MoU with Morgan State University, USA for academic collaboration.
For academic expansion, the National Universities Commission has conducted resource verification for three new programmes: Artificial Intelligence, Telecommunication Science, and Tourism and Hospitality Management.
The university plans to add Anatomy, Physiology, Nursing and Medicine once facilities at the permanent site are ready.
FUTES commenced with 1,564 students across 35 departments in 4 faculties. The 2025/2026 session has been completed and the new session starts October 12, 2026. About 38 buildings are under construction to support its residential plan.
The Vice Chancellor acknowledged support from the Federal Government, TETFund, Senator Bamidele, Premium Trust Bank, and the Iyin-Ekiti community which donated 200 hectares of land. He appealed for more partnerships in faculty buildings, hostels, laboratories, and buses.
He added that four FUTES lecturers rank among Nigeria’s top 500 researchers. His vision, he said, is for FUTES to become a leading, ICT-compliant, residential university producing job creators within 10 years.
Omotola Oluyemisi
AD (I&PR)
31/08/2026.
