Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), has identified inadequate funding as a significant challenge affecting Nigerian universities, especially in the area of medical education. He made this statement while receiving the National President of the Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Prince Mosediq Adeniji-Kazeem, during a courtesy visit to the Ahmadu Bello House in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State.
Governor AbdulRazaq stated that his administration has been providing strategic support to tertiary institutions in the state to enhance health professional training and improve infrastructure. He noted that his government is focused on strengthening university-based medical training in the state of Kwara. “In Kwara State, we have about eight private universities. We are deliberately supporting them by upgrading their access to teaching hospitals,” he said. “When we came in, there was only one medical school, the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. Now, we have transformed the General Hospital in Ilorin into the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital.”
He added that the state government has designated other public health facilities as teaching hospitals, including Sobi Specialist Hospital for Al-Hikmah University, and General Hospital Omu-Aran for Thomas Adewumi University. The government is also in talks with another university seeking to take over the General Hospital in Offa.
“These steps are deliberate and targeted at expanding opportunities for medical education in Kwara. The biggest challenge for many universities remains funding, and that is why we are stepping in to ease the burden where possible,” AbdulRazaq stated. He praised the Ansar-ud-Deen Society for its role in promoting education and religious harmony in Nigeria and pledged continued collaboration, especially in tertiary education. He said the state would consider the society’s request for an intra-campus road at Summit University, Offa.
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