By Amos Aar
GOVERNOR Hyacinth Alia of Benue State on Thursday approved the unfreezing of bank accounts of three tertiary institutions in the state.
State Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Dr. Frederick Ikyaan, stated this during an interactive session with Benue State House Standing Committee on Higher Education, naming the institutions to include Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, Akperan Orshi Polytechnic, Yandev and College of Education, Oju.
The accounts were frozen the very day Governor Alia during his inauguration on May 29, 2023.
Dr Ikyaan said efforts are on to do the same to other institutions whose accounts were frozen.
Also interfacing with the lawmakers, Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Michael Oglegba, urged heads of tertiary institutions to come up with interventions in their schools based on needs for government’s attention, saying the governor has given the ministry two weeks to resolve issues of non-remittance to the institutions.
Earlier, while interacting with the Commissioner for Education and that of Finance, Acting Chairman, Board of Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) and Heads of Tertiary Institutions in the state, Chairman House Standing Committee on Tertiary Education, Mr. Manger Manger, called for the survival of tertiary institutions.
Manger called for adequate attention to the institutions by way of addressing challenges hindering their smooth operation for quality education of the child and stressed the need for special intervention funds to the schools for improved infrastructure and enrollment.
The member representing Tarka constituency at the assembly who sued for efficient utilisation of education tax fund in the state commended the effort of the Commissioner for Education towards upliftment of education and pledged support of the state assembly.
