The African Development Bank (AfDB) last month signed agreements for a corporate loan to finance the expansion of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.
The expansion project consists of the construction of new facilities – including a 400-bed teaching hospital, an industrial research park, a postgraduate school, student hostels, a central library and a small-scale hydropower installation.
The signing ceremony was held at the AfDB’s premises in Abuja, with representatives of the university and other lending partners in attendance, including Wema Bank, Sterling Bank, UBA, Union Bank and legal partner Templars.
ABUAD vice chancellor professor Micheal Oluwafemi Ajisafe explained that the expansion would improve access to high-quality education for more than 10 000 students, create 250 new staff positions, as well as about 1 000 temporary jobs across construction, supplies and consulting in the value chain.
In addition, full and/or partial scholarships and other forms of financial aid will be provided for more than 500 students. With an emphasis on life, leadership and entrepreneurial skills, the university will generate more than 12 000 high-quality and employable graduates by the end of the loan life, in addition to more than 2 400 trained farmers, who will benefit from the university’s training and entrepreneurial programmes for farmers. The industrial research park is expected to galvanise the interest of industrialists and investors to establish SME industries in Ekiti state, and improve the state’s revenues by more than 50-million naira yearly.