25/09/2026
𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗨𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲-𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼, 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵
…𝑨𝒔 𝑭𝑪𝑺𝑪 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝑶𝒍𝒂𝒐𝒑𝒂 𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚, 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔
Federal University Lokoja (FUL) has unveiled its five-year Partnership Portfolio 2026–2030, a strategic framework designed to accelerate institutional growth through sustainable collaboration with government, industry, financial institutions, development partners, alumni and private investors.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Gbenga Solomon Ibileye, unveiled the portfolio at a special investment and partnership convening held in Abuja on Thursday, September 24, 2026, where he called for a shift from traditional philanthropy to strategic investment, shared value creation and sustainable institutional development.
The event, themed “University Governance and the Corporate World: Towards an ‘All-of-People’ Approach to Financing Federal University Lokoja,” brought together university officials, members of the Governing Council, corporate representatives, alumni, development partners and other stakeholders.
Professor Ibileye said the pace of FUL’s development increasingly depends on strategic partnerships and the mobilisation of resources beyond traditional government funding.
He noted that while older universities had benefited from decades of government investment, younger institutions such as FUL must explore innovative ways to accelerate growth.
Established in 2011, FUL is 15 years old in 2026. The Vice Chancellor described the University as “young, vibrant, ambitious and growing,” stressing the need to leverage its people, location, land, knowledge, networks and other assets.
“We are young, but we are not starting from zero. We have a foundation, we have talent, we have location, we have ideas, we have networks and, most importantly, we have the ambition to build an institution capable of making a lasting contribution to Nigeria’s development,” he said.
Professor Ibileye explained that the Partnership Portfolio was not intended to replace government funding but to complement it through innovative and sustainable partnerships.
Presenting FUL as an investment opportunity, he invited potential partners to support projects capable of generating measurable returns while delivering academic and developmental benefits.
“I am here to invite you to investment, and to speak to you in the language that every serious investor understands, which is the language of returns on investment,” he said.
He also called on alumni and friends of the University to identify with projects in areas such as scholarships, research, infrastructure, entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Do not leave this University the way you met it,” he urged.
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, FCSC, Professor Tunji Olaopa, called for a fundamental review of the legal and governance framework governing Nigerian universities to enhance resource mobilisation, research and responsiveness to industry needs.
Professor Olaopa said existing university governance structures and establishment laws could create bottlenecks that limit institutional flexibility. He therefore called on the National Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Education and other relevant stakeholders to amend the laws to grant universities greater operational and academic autonomy.
“This will entail initiating amendment to existing university establishment Acts, to grant full operational and academic autonomy to universities,” he said.
He, however, stressed that autonomy must be accompanied by accountability, with financing tied to clear objectives and measurable outcomes.
Professor Olaopa also advocated an “All-of-People” partnership model involving industry, host communities, alumni, trade unions and other stakeholders.
He called for stronger alignment between strategic planning and budgeting, with academic programmes, building projects and recruitment tied to clearly defined key performance indicators.
Olaopa further proposed a diversified funding ecosystem involving government, businesses, universities, communities, alumni, philanthropists and development partners. Among the options he highlighted were community-backed endowments, commercialisation through technology transfer offices and science parks, as well as government matching funds.
The FCSC Chairman said proceeds from innovation, agricultural research and software development could be transparently shared among researchers, students, universities and private-sector partners, with a portion reinvested in research.
Also, the Executive Director of Research Enterprise Systems, Professor Fatai Aremu, said the initiative was premised on the understanding that a university is more than a collection of buildings, describing it as a place where possibilities are cultivated and people are empowered.
Professor Aremu said investing in a university was ultimately an investment in people, human capital and the future of society. He explained that FUL was seeking to move beyond the traditional approach of relying on one-off financial support towards sustainable partnerships in which stakeholders could contribute to institutional development while creating value for all parties.
“We are here today to do things differently,” he said, describing FUL as a platform of possibilities through which stakeholders could participate in strategic partnerships and investments.
Earlier, the Director of Alumni Relations and Linkages, Professor Abel Joseph, said the initiative was designed to change the perception that financing a federal university was solely the responsibility of government.
He noted that FUL’s rapid expansion had created increasing needs in infrastructure, research funding, student support and innovation, making alternative financing mechanisms necessary to complement government funding.
According to him, the “All-of-People” approach recognises the shared interest of government, alumni, corporate organisations, the host community, parents and other stakeholders in the growth of the University.
He said the initiative forms part of the University’s Vision Plan 2026–2031, which seeks to mobilise collective support for institutional development.
Meanwhile, Professor Ibileye subsequently outlined investment opportunities across student accommodation, staff and faculty housing, conference and hospitality facilities, commercial and mixed-use development, technology and innovation, agriculture and renewable energy.
He said FUL’s expanding student population and academic programmes were creating infrastructure and service demands that could not be met through...
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