PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has urged graduates in the country to apply the skills they acquired in the course of their studies and practical knowledge of their chosen professions to lunch themselves into becoming job creators rather than job seekers.
The president who was represented by Professor Eugene Essien of the National Universities Commission (NUC) gave the charge at the weekend during the fifth convocation ceremony of Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUA) Umuahia , Abia State.
He also tasked the graduating students to depend less on government for employment but act as agents of social transformation.
Jonathan reiterated the Federal Government's sustainable support to universities and other educational institutions through meaningful budgetary allocations to enable them key into its transformation agenda adding that government also took definite measures to improve food sufficiency through the provision of incentives.
He urged MOUA to continue to strive to sustain its contributions via regular research that would impact on food sufficiency, security and export.
Jonathan lauded the remarkable achievements and successes recorded by the Vice Chancellor Prof Hilary Edeoga whom the Chancellor, Dr Alfred Akawe Torkula, the Tor Tiv, described as one of the foundation staff who knew better the problems of MOUA and how best to tackle them.
Torkula said: "Having served as Chancellor of a number of universities in this country, it is my considered opinion that the university vice-chancellorship where possible, should come from within the system and after his/her tenure, he/she should continue with his/her university career until after five years before retirement. In this way, he/she will be in a better position to appreciate his achievements or none, in order to chart a realistic way forward for the university concerned".
In his address Edeoga said that priority was being accorded provision of teaching and research to ensure efficient primary mandate delivery, adding that one of the major breakthroughs was the accessing of its Tertiary Education Trust Fund allocation that had lain fallow since 2009.
" We have succeeded in gaining access and facilitated building three Colleges blocks."
He added that despite the prevailing industrial peace and cohesion, that MOUA faced challenges in accessing its land from the host communities, non release of its take-off grant 20 years after inception, student hostel accommodation among others.
