By  Steve Oni, Ilorin 

 The  Vice Chancellor  of the  University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulGaniyu  Ambali, has  explained  why the institution cited  its Veterinary Hospital right inside the Ilorin metropolis, rather than on the University campus.
The Veterinary Hospital  is located at  Sabo-Oke  in the  heart  of  Ilorin metropolis.

 Addressing journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, over the weekend, the VC said  the management  deliberately cited  the  Veterinary  Hospital in the heart of Ilorin metropolis in order to make it  easier and convenient for  the  residents  to  access  the services of the hospital, pointing out that the  level  of  patronage so far has justified the citing of  the  hospital  outside the  University's  campus, which incidentally is a bit  far from the metropolis.

 Ambali, who disclosed that  the  National  Universities Commission (NUC) has  given full accreditation to the institution's veterinary  medicine, enthused that "the  university's  veterinary  hospital  at Sabo-Oke  contributed a lot  to  achieving  this feat. "

 The  VC also cleared the  air on the  allegation that  the University withdrew  the  provisional admissions it had  offered  2000 candidates  after  collecting  certain  fees from  them, explaining that  the  university's  management  found  out  during the screening  exercise conducted  for the  candidates  seeking admission  into the  institution that some of them  uploaded results which did not tally with those on their original certificates.

 He said : "Only 711 candidates  who uploaded grades which didn't correspond with what they have on their original certificates were  affected  and  not  2000 as being  claimed  in certain  quarters.  We had to withdraw the  provisional admissions  we  offered  them because what they  did  amounted to  examination  malpractice which  our  university  abhors.

 "Surprisingly, some of the candidates who had C6 in their Senior Secondary School Certificate Results uploaded B1, some A1 and this was discovered when they came for screening after they had been given provisional admissions . Then we said they had misguided us into giving them admission wrongly. Even some of them uploaded grades in subjects they didn't write during the SSSC examinations. 

 "In any civilised society, those candidates would have been prosecuted because that is examination malpractice. If those candidates were using fraudulent means to come in,  you can imagine what they will do when they become our students fully. We left them off the hook because we thought they were young people, thinking they will learn their lesson having lost the opportunity to come into our University fraudulently. " 

 Ambali also  debunked the allegation  of  favouritism  in the promotion of the staff of the  institution, saying  that "there are  laid down  procedures  guiding  staff promotion. In fact,  there is a  committee  saddled with  that  responsibility and the  VC is just the  chairman and  whenever  a person close to the  VC is to be  considered  for  promotion,  the  VC will  step  aside to  prevent  any  undue  favouritism " . Besides,  he said promotions always emanate from departments to faculties before they get to the AP and C. 

 On how the  University  was  coping  with  economic  recession,  Ambali  said  the  institution had invested  in teak, palm oil plantations and  solar energy  to boost  its internally  generated revenue.

 "Though,  the  teak and  palm oil  plantations have  gestation period,  in the next two years we shall  begin to  profit from the venture.

 "We also  hope to  get some  profits from our numerous  research  projects as well as  from the  solar  energy  project  on which  we recently  signed  an MoU  with  an American  firm.," he stated.

 The VC, who  expressed  delight  that  UNiLORIN  has  remained  the  most  patronised  University in the  last  three years, said  he remained  committed to  leaving the  University  better than  he  met it.

 He said: "My focus is on the promise I  made over  four years  ago that I  want to  leave the  University better than I  met it. I  shall  not be  distracted."