After several months of passage of the bill by the national Assembly, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday signed into law, the bill establishing the University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta State.
It would be recalled that trouble had started at the initial stage of the idea when it was alleged in some quarters that executive fiat is working towards relocating former Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), to Kaduna, so as to upgrade it to a full University.
But Niger Delta youths and elders resisted the move with threats of frustrating oil activities until government succumbed to the pressure of not only upgrading the institution to a university, but retaining the current location.
Industry analysts say with the signing of the bill into law, the path has been cleared for the establishment of the specialized university in the Niger Delta, charged with training and research in petroleum technologies.
President Buhari after signing the bill into law, assured that “this administration is fully committed to supporting the Niger Delta in its endeavours to achieve socio-economic development.”
According to the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President appealed to all communities in the region to strive for peace through dialogue in resolving all conflicts not only among them, but also with business entities and the authorities.
The Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE) was established and approved by the Federal Executive Council meeting of 14 March 2007 and admitted its first set of undergraduates in 2008.
The university was established under the Federal Government of Nigeria initiative to build a specialized university in the Niger Delta to produce manpower and expertise for the oil and gas sector.
The National Universities Commission (NUC) approved sharing of facilities between the Petroleum Training Institute Effurun and FUPRE until it moved to its permanent site on development of its main campus at Ugbomro, Uvwie Local Government Area in 2010.
