Prof. Titilayo Akinlabi, the Director of Pan African University of Life and Earth Science Institute, says the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) N250 million grant for the institute infrastructural development will further stimulate the institute’s academic activities.

Akinlabi made the commendation in Ibadan in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

She said that the fund would complement the efforts of the African Union Commission (AUC) and Nigeria on postgraduate education for Africa.

She observed that although the federal government had approved N250 million for the institute in 2014, the fund was released in August 2020.

“Thanks to the federal government of Nigeria through the TETFund for the provision of the first N250 million as a grant for the construction of the administrative blocks for Pan African University of Life and Earth Science Institute (PAULESI).

“Also, I thank the University of Ibadan for allocating six plots of land at Ajibode for the institute’s mini campus.

“We are a university in a university and we run a joint postgraduate degree programme, the vice-chancellor of University of Ibadan and the rector of Pan African University sign students’ certificates.

“On assumption of duty, I realised the need for infrastructure for PAULESI as an institute going through history, I realised that since inception a land was allocated to the institute by the authorities of University of Ibadan.

“The former director had made an effort to contact the federal government for support towards infrastructure.

“It happens that I came in July and the contractor moved to the site in August when the grant was released.

“We got the necessary support from the University of Ibadan directorate of works and everyone that has something to do with building; we got the bidding done and the contractor moved to site.

“No few than 10 structures are to be erected and one is almost completed out of the 10.

“So, we are looking forward to the public, companies and partners that would be willing to support the work that African Union Commission and the federal government is doing to provide infrastructure for the institute.

“We are looking forward to having classrooms, central laboratories, sports complex, guest house, clinic and a couple of facilities.

“This will create an ambience that would help our students to be known as students of PAULESI and products of an African collaboration’’, Akinlabi said.