We Acquired Bosso Campus On Permanent Basis, Says FUT Minna

The management of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, has clarified the controversy surrounding the planned take over of its Bosso Campus by the Niger State government.

This came as the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone C (North Central), condemned the state government’s move.

Making known the position of the university yesterday in Minna, the registrar of the university Malam Danladi Mallam, said, “The property was formally acquired from the Niger State government on a permanent basis, and the sum of N2.8 million was duly paid as compensation to the state government.”

He said the process was duly followed by the federal government to acquire the then Government Teachers College (GTC) for the take-off of the university in 1983.

He added that the transaction was concluded as an outright acquisition and not a lease agreement.

The registrar said recent correspondence from the state government indicated its intention to take over the Bosso Campus on the claim that the land was leased and that the university had relocated to its Gidan Kwano site was therefore inconsistent with the historical and legal position of the property.

On the nature of acquisition, he said, “The former Government Teachers’ College, Minna was permanently acquired by the Federal Government for the establishment of Federal University of Technology, Minna. The agreed compensation sum of N2.8 million was fully paid to the Niger State Government”.

According to him, there was no record of lease documentation, tenancy agreement, or temporary transfer arrangement as the payment of compensation signified transfer of ownership interest to Federal Government for the University’s use.

“The claim that the land was leased is therefore factually and legally incorrect,” he said while pointing out that subsequent Investments and Expansion by the University followed the acquisition.

He said the university undertook extensive development and expansion of the Bosso Campus, including remodeling and reconstruction as well  as rehabilitation of all inherited Government Teachers’ College structures.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone C (North Central), has condemned the alleged attempt by the Niger State Government to forcefully take over the Bosso Campus of FUT Minna.

The Zonal Coordinator NANS Zone C (North Central) Hussaini Jamilu Ebbo said,   ” The Bosso Campus has since served as a major academic hub of the University, accommodating no fewer than nine academic and support units, including staff quarters, the school clinic, School of Science and Technology, FUT Minna Microfinance Bank, lecture halls, laboratories, workshops, studios, offices, and other associated facilities critical to the smooth running of the University”.