Osun Government Upgrades Ilesa College Of Education To Varsity

The Osun State Government has announced the upgrade of the State College of Education, Ilesa to a full-fledged university.

The Sate Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola disclosed this in Ilesa on Thursday during the inauguration and handing-over of N1billion worth Ijesaland Geriatric Centre to the management of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife.

Governor Oyetola further noted that the State government has engaged a corporate consultant, KPMG, to work out the sustainability plan of the upgrade.

“Let me say that, having looked into and examined carefully the request made by prominent sons and daughters of Ijesa Land, and the Owa, our highly-revered Royal Father, His Imperial Majesty, Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland, Oba (Dr.) Gabriel Aromolaran, government has decided to upgrade the Osun College of Education, Ilesa, to a full-fledged University.”, he said.

Oyetola commended the Ijesa people for their magnanimity in funding the health project, adding that the gesture would go a long way to further complement the state investment in the health sector.

“Considering our nation’s growing aged population and the absence of the requisite medical care for our senior citizens, this project is certainly excellently well-thought-out and has definitely come to fill a much-needed void.

“In other words, the Ijesa Geriatric Centre is a welcome development as it brings closer to our people a specialised geriatric care. This is against the background of the truism that being old is not a disease and that senior citizens have a right to medical care as indeed the younger population,” Oyetola concluded.

In his remark, the Asiwaju of Ijesaland, Olayinka Fasuyi, thanked the Governor “for heeding our age-old prayers of upgrading the 44-year-old College of Education, Ilesa, to a full fledged University.

“Mr. Governor, You have honoured us, God will continue to honour you. You have listened to our requests and our overdue agitations. God will not forsake you. You have rekindled our hope as Ijesa people and you have made us proud with this declaration.

“You shall continue to be celebrated. I want to assure you that Ijesaland shall vote massively beyond your imagination in return of your kind gesture to us. It is only God in His infinity that will compensate you.”

In his goodwill message, The Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, lauded Governor Oyetola for the successes so far recorded across the various sectors of the state economy.

The monarch commended the people of Ijesaland for their support over the success of the project, noting that the health facility will go a long way in complementing the efforts of the State government to improve health sector.