Chairman Revenue Mobilization Allocation And Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, has been conferred the Honorary Ambassador award of the Igbinedion University Okada (IUO).
The Vice Chancellor of IUO, Prof. Lawrence Ikechukwu Ezemonye, announced this when he led a delegation from the university to present the award to Dr. Shehu in his office in Abuja on Tuesday.
Professor Ezenmonye told the Chairman that in line with its development trajectory, the university decided to establish the Honorary Ambassador of IUO award to recognize personalities who have demonstrated commitment to educational excellence and distinguished themselves in service to the nation.
“The Premier Private University, in its due delligence search, has considered you as most worthy of this honour of being its Honorary Ambassador,” the Vice Chancellor said.
”This is predicated on your profile as a consummate technocrat and more importantly, as a distinguished alumnus of our great university.”
“As Honorary Ambassador of IUO, you will be expected, amongst other things, to promote and project the image and standing of the University, while advancing its interest,” he added.
In his reaction, Dr. M. B Shehu extolled the ideals of the University’s founding fathers and expressed his appreciation to the management and staff of the institution for finding him worthy of the recognition accorded him in advancing the course of the university.
“The most important thing that we can do for the society is to impact knowledge. If we had sustained what our forefathers started many years ago, probably all the issues being discussed in Nigeria today wouldn’t have come up.
“We have great minds, great talents and great institutions, but somehow, along the line, we allowed the university system to derail,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to God that some higher institutions, like the IUO, were able to maintain a high standard of education despite the challenges confronting higher institutions of learning in the country.
The Chairman praised the foresight of the founding fathers of the university, adding that it was really remarkable to have started this institution 25 years ago and considering the positive transformation that has been recorded so far. “I think the management of the university should be commended,” he said.
Dr. Bello then pledged his readiness to advance the course of the institution. “I assure you that I would do whatever I can to assist in whatever capacity, to market, to propagate, to help and to project the image of the University wherever I am,” he said(.
The Registrar/ Secretary of Council of the University, Professor Friday Beni Bakari and other members of the delegation as well as officials of RMAFC in their address described the Chairman as a humble, amiable and detribalised person.