By Frank Odinukaeze
President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the appointment of Professor Umar Adam Katsayal, as the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, Katsina State,even as the Transportation Minister, Engr.Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, charged the new Vice-Chancellor in a congratulatory message to run the institution with the vision that birthed it, graduating scholars that will break new grounds with cutting-edge interventions in the country’s transportation sector.
This charge was contained in a letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr Magdalene Ajani, who conveyed the President’s approval, for a five-year tenure, effective from whenever the Vice-Chancellor assumes duty, in line with the Federal University of Transportation (Establishment) Act 2022, Part 1 Section 3(6) While wishing him well, the Transportation Minister, implored Professor Katsayal to make the institution a university of national unity.
Professor Umar Adam Katsayal is a professor of Pharmacognosy and Drug Development at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with teaching and research experiences in Nigerian Universities spanning over two decades. He is an experienced Professor with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. Skilled in Lecturing, Public Speaking, Management, and Strategic Planning. He is the consultant on the establishment of the University as well as the Chairman Interim Management Committee of the University.
The Transportation University would, among other things, pave the way for the domestication of railway engineering and general transportation sciences in Nigeria, thereby bridging the technology and skill gap in the railway and ultimately the transportation sector. It is believed that the University can reach the target of training people, technology transfer and developing the railway industry which is in huge demand in Nigeria and the West African region as a whole.