Supo Shadiya, the chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Ilesa Advancement Centre, says the establishment of the institution is timely in shaping and modelling Osun’s education sector.

Mr Shadiya, a geophysicist and oil expert, said this during the 50th edition of the Frontliners, a programme organised by the League of Veteran Journalists in Osogbo on Wednesday.

UNILESA was established and upgraded by the administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola for academic development. He said the centre has ensured that the challenges facing the university are addressed to create a conducive academic environment.

According to him, there are many challenges facing the university right now, beyond accommodation challenges, as widely speculated.

“We have challenges with infrastructure and building equipment in the university, and the advancement centre is not holding back to ensure that all those things are addressed. The issue of accommodation for students is the third on the hierarchy of our plans, and a lot still needs to be done in the institution,” he said.

He further said that the university accommodation project was recently launched with the sum of N50 million. According to him, the university’s BOT has continued to encourage investment in accommodation infrastructure.

The geophysicist urged university students not to work with house agents to avoid being taken advantage of, but rather to deal directly with accommodation owners.

Mr Shadiya, however, urged stakeholders in the education sector to support the university by investing more in facilities to enable convenient academic learning.

The Osun chairman of the League of Veteran Journalists, Adetoyesa Shittu-Alamu, commended Mr Shadiya for sharing more knowledge about the university’s growth and development, which served as an eye-opener.

Mr Shittu-Alamu praised him as one of the personalities inducted into the recent 2025 Nigeria Union of Journalists Hall of Fame in the state. 

(NAN)