V-C calls for researches with economic value

The Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, yesterday, urged researchers in the university and elsewhere in the country to give priority attention to issues affecting the economy.

Mustapha made this call during the 2014 Annual Lecture on Indigenous Process Technology Development for the Production of Zeolite Catalysts from Kaolin that took place at the university.

He said: “I would like to challenge our young scientists and professors to come up with areas of research focusing on our economy. From the little we have in this university, I assure you we would give you the maximum support. I think the time has come for the universities to begin to showcase what they are doing in terms of research, particularly focusing on the aspect of transforming our economy. Nigeria has the potentials to develop, we only need to utilise those potentials.

Speaking, the Executive Secretary of the PTDF, Dr. Oluwole Oluleye, said initiating of various research programmes in different universities of the country is one of the major achievements of the fund.

He said: “What we are doing is getting problems from the industry into the classrooms and back to the industry in form of solutions. Our mandate is oil and gas, and we are going to take on more universities that are related to oil and gas and fund their research.”

In his lecture, Professor Abdulkareem S. Ahmed, PTDF Professorial Chair Holder in ABU, explained the progress being made by the university on research on zeolites for the development of the oil and gas sector. while the training of 50 other youths has commenced.

The 6 months training programmes included carpentry, masonry, poultry, electrical installation, irrigation and welding.