A Monarch in Osun State, The Olowu Kuta Oba Hammed Adekunle Malama has appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to merge the Nigerian Army University with the Nigerian Defence Academy.
The traditional ruler gave this advice while reacting to the recent implementation of Oronsaye Repor, in a statement issued by his media office on Wednesday.
President Tinubu had ordered for the full implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye report, during a meeting on Monday.
Reacting, Olowu Kuta said, “Nigerian Army University, Biu, unlike the Nigerian Defence Academy, is a full-fledged federal university like other federal universities in the country, offers various courses and not specialised like NDA.”
Recalling that the Nigerian Army University was established by an Act of the National Assembly, the traditional ruler said that it cannot be reversed without going back to the Assembly to repeal the Act that set it up.
“Merging NAU with NDA means the Federal Government is ready to merge every federal university created by Act of the National Assembly,” he said.
He also reminded Tinubu that Nigerian Army University was set up to cater for the multitude of students in search of university education in the North East axis.
According to him, merging it with the NDA will reduce it to an institution where military personnel are trained.
However, he commended the President on the political will to implement a far-reaching civil service reform that was initiated twelve years ago to cut the over-bloated costs of governance.
“Finally I believe the mix-up should not have arisen if proper wider consultation were made before advising Mr President on the inclusion of NAU because the University was not even in existence during the Orosanye panel seatings,” Olowu Kuta added.
