Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi Wednesday said in spite of his generosity to ensure that members of the seventh National Assembly got their salaries and financial entitlements as at when due, the latter were always at the verge of having him sacked as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The former CBN governor made the remark in Benin City, Edo State, in his acceptance speech during his installation as the ninth Chancellor of the University or Benin (UNIBEN).
Sanusi’s statement came while recognising the pro-Chancellor of the university, Effiong Dickson Bob, a former senator as one of the dignitaries that graced the installation ceremony.
“To the members of the governing council under the able leadership of Senator Dickson Effiong Bob, he doesn’t mind me reminding him of the circumstances of which we met. He was in the Senate in charge of the welfare of senators, and I was at the CBN, and he was always coming to beg for salaries in advance.
“But the real story is that while I was always generous to the senators in giving them their salaries they were always trying to sack me. But I have known him for a long time and I can assure the university that you have him as a pro-Chancellor,” Sanusi said.
The Emir of Kano, who however called on Nigerians to support and pray for the success of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, noted that the current economic crisis called for fervent prayers.
“This nation has enough to be thankful for. In the last one-year, we have conducted general elections peacefully. We have a new government that has the opportunity to give this country a new lease of life.
“However, the government is taking office at a time of great difficulties. Oil prices crashed, mismanagement of the past, governance and corruption issues have placed this country economics in a precarious state. And there will be a need for difficulty decisions and support and prayers for the new administration,” he said.
Sanusi, who commended the Federal Government for its interest in the development of the education sector, especially the tertiary education, enjoined well-meaning Nigerians, corporate institutions to complement the government development in the education sector with holistic and full implementation of their respective corporate social responsibility.
In his speech, the visitor to the university, President Muhammadu Buhari, warned that the Federal Government would not fold its arms and watch some unscrupulous elements mismanage valuable resources that government provided in funding educational sector.
The Federal Ministry of Education will ensure that wastages and leakages are blocked and perpetuators brought to book, he said.
President Buhari, represented by minister of education, Adamu Adamu, however, assured that the Federal Government was working very hard to change the fortunes of the nation’s universities, as government was committed to the implementation of the recommendations of the report on the NEEDS assessment in the universities.
He noted that the implementation would not only halt the rot in the university system but would also permanently reverse it as well as placed it on the path of international competitiveness.
Earlier, Faraday Orumwense, the vice-chancellor of the university, disclosed that the institution’s Senate approved the results of 11,020 graduands for the 2013/2014 academic session.
Orumwense said a total of 64 graduands had first class honour, 1,671 second class upper, among others.
He however enumerated challenges confronting the institution to include erosion threat, which he noted was moving at a speed of about 500 metres, encroachment on its land by individuals and neighbouring communities, and paucity of fund. He called on the Federal Government to increase its fund to be able to meet its increasing financial challenges.
