Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for renaming the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi as Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi in honor of the late Joseph Sarwuan Tarka.
Tarka made a significant contribution to the advancement of politics and mankind during his brief sojourn on earth, according to the governor who gave the compliment when the Governing Council and Management of JOSTUM paid him a courtesy call.
He said that the late J.S. Tarka campaigned for minorities’ rights.
He expressed his gratitude to the president for honoring the entire state’s population, not only Tarka.
However, Ortom bemoaned that the host community of the school had been shortchanged, highlighting the fact that the money that was granted for compensation did not reach them, making it difficult to relocate them to other locations. Ortom claimed that this is why they are still claiming the site.
“We have established a committee and will include the school administration in it. This will help us to understand how we may create a situation where both the institution and the host community benefit, said Ortom.
The governor requested an extension of the deadline for the usage of old naira notes, which had been set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in order to accommodate residents of rural regions.
The governor stressed that since most rural residents don’t even have bank accounts, it was impossible for them to meet the deadline because there weren’t many new notes in circulation.
The pro-chancellor, Mrs. Edith Uwajumogu, expressed her gratitude to God for making her the university’s first female pro-chancellor since the institution’s founding.
Uwajumogu stated that they were interested in seeing the school grow. They added that the school’s name had been altered, but it had not yet become conventional, but they were hopeful that it will happen soon.
She urged the state government to repair the road leading from the SRS junction to the school and also demanded the purchase of vehicles to help with student transportation issues, pointing out that the institution was too big and that as a result, students had to travel great distances to attend classes.
Earlier, the university’s interim vice chancellor, Prof. Paul Anune, expressed gratitude to Ortom for agreeing to collaborate with the school and notified the governor that the problem of the host community encroaching on the school’s property was still ongoing.
