By Rotimi Ojomoyela

ADO-EKITI — Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Ayo Arise, has explained his role in the establishment of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE, saying he facilitated the process through engagements with the Federal Government.

Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, Arise, who served in the National Assembly between 2007 and 2011, said he initiated the process of securing a federal university for Oye-Ekiti following President Goodluck Jonathan’s announcement in November 2010 of plans to establish six new federal universities in states without such institutions.

He said claims crediting other individuals with the establishment of FUOYE did not reflect the role he played in ensuring that Oye-Ekiti became the permanent location of the institution.

According to him, President Jonathan announced on November 28, 2010, that the Federal Government would establish six new universities in states without federal universities.

Arise said the following day, he wrote to the Minister of Education through the ministry’s then Permanent Secretary, Professor Oladapo Afolabi, requesting that one of the proposed universities be established in Oye-Ekiti.

He said Professor Afolabi subsequently advised him to present the request to the then Minister of State for Education, the late Kenneth Gbagi.

The former lawmaker recalled that he subsequently visited Gbagi’s office, where he met the minister alongside the then Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Peter Okojie, and Professor Mahmood Yakubu of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, who later became Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Arise said Gbagi subsequently indicated that Oye-Ekiti had been identified as one of the locations for the proposed universities, alongside Otuoke.

He described Femi Ajayi, a former Director-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, who he said had been credited with the establishment of the institution, as a “decent gentleman” who played a supportive role in his efforts.

Arise explained that Ajayi had a longstanding relationship with President Jonathan, having served with him at Iresi and subsequently held several federal positions, including Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora Affairs, Director-General of the NDLEA and Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF.

According to Arise, Ajayi was the person he could most easily reach at the Presidency and often helped convey his messages to President Jonathan.

He added that Ajayi used his various federal appointments to contribute to the development of his community.

Arise also acknowledged the role played by former Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, in resolving land and location-related issues surrounding the university.

He said he met Fayemi on July 31, 2011, for nearly two hours over the governor’s position at the time regarding the Certificate of Occupancy required by the Federal Government for the land in Oye-Ekiti.

According to him, they eventually agreed that a dual-campus arrangement would help resolve the controversy.

He said the arrangement allowed Ikole-Ekiti to host the Faculty of Agriculture, while Oye-Ekiti remained the main campus of the university.

Arise urged Ekiti people to approach the history of the institution with fairness and integrity, rather than allowing political considerations to influence accounts of its establishment.

He said: “I have become aware of recent narratives about the establishment of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti. Some of these accounts appear to diminish my role in the effort that, by God’s grace and with President Jonathan’s approval, led to the university being established in Oye-Ekiti.

“The following is the account as it happened.

“On Sunday, November 28, 2010, President Jonathan announced his intention to establish six new universities in states where there were no federal universities. The news was aired on NTA Network at about 9 p.m.

“The next day, I wrote to the Honourable Minister of Education through the ministry’s then Permanent Secretary, Professor Afolabi, requesting that one of the universities be established in Oye-Ekiti. Professor Afolabi advised me to address the letter to the then Minister of State, the late Kenneth Gbagi.

“I immediately went to his office and, as directed by his secretary, waited for him because he was on his way back to the office. He arrived less than five minutes later, accompanied by Professor Okojie of the NUC and Professor Yakubu of TETFund, who later became INEC Chairman.

“After my initial presentation, Professor Okojie said that Oye was a rural community because he had visited Oye before to inspect the location for Crawford University before its relocation to Ogun State.

“Late Kenneth Gbagi looked at me and said he was looking for a location where the university could take off immediately.

“I told him Oye was ready as there was a teachers’ college established by the Federal Government in the 1970s. I then asked him whether he would not consider the hometown of the man who gave him his job simply because the community was rural. Gbagi then said he already had locations for two of the six universities — Otuoke and Oye-Ekiti.

“The next phase was the inspection of the facilities. It was during the visit that they paid a courtesy call on the newly sworn-in Governor Fayemi, who decided to take them to Ikole-Ekiti for inspection.

“Late Gbagi thereafter indicated that a federal university would be established in Ikole. This generated controversy between the two communities.

“Some people subsequently believed that I was responsible for moving the university from Ikole to Oye-Ekiti. That was not the case, as no request for the university had been made before I submitted my letter and met with Hon. Gbagi, Professor Okojie and Professor Yakubu.

“I became Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatization in July 2007. Vice President Jonathan was then the statutory chairman of the National Council on Privatization. My committee had direct oversight responsibility for the council, which the Vice President chaired.

“We had a good working relationship, and out of respect for his office, I periodically went to the Villa to hold committee discussions with him. This relationship lasted until he became Acting President on February 9, 2010, and later President on May 6, 2010.

“This represented more than two and a half years of working relationship prior to the issue of the university’s establishment.

“Mr Femi Ajayi, a decent gentleman, had his own relationship with President Jonathan when they served together at Iresi. The President appointed him SSA on Diaspora Affairs, later Director-General of NDLEA and finally Executive Secretary of PTDF.

“Dr Femi Ajayi was the person I could most easily reach at the Presidency, and he reliably conveyed my messages to the President.

“If I had routed my letters and occasional gifts through official channels, I could only have guessed whether they reached the President or what response they received. One of the gifts I sent was Decision Points by George W. Bush.

“As far as I am concerned, Dr Femi Ajayi remains a good man. Through the various federal positions he held, he had opportunities to serve the people of Aiyegbaju, and I believe there are many testimonies to his impact in that regard. “Dr Ajayi was no doubt one of the contributors who supported me as needed.”