Senate approves bill for Akwa Ibom's Federal University of Technology

The Senate has approved a bill that will give legal backing to the Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi (FUTIA) in Akwa Ibom State. This comes five years after the university was set up.

The bill was sponsored by Ekong Sampson, the senator for Akwa Ibom South. It was passed on Thursday after the Senate looked through its details.

Samuel Udoma, Mr Sampson’s media aide, shared the news on Facebook. He called the new law an important step for the university to get official recognition.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Leo Daniel, praised the bill's passage. He called it “the best gift of the year” from the National Assembly to the institution.

This comes as FUTIA is growing its academic programs. The university recently got approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) to start 12 new degree programs in the 2026/2027 academic year.

FUTIA was approved as a federal institution by former President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2021. But it was set up without an official law to support it.

Mr Sampson introduced the bill to fix this issue. The law will help provide a legal structure for how the university is run and operates.

The university said this law will strengthen its foundation and help it fulfill its mission to promote technology-driven education, research, innovation, and sustainable development.

The Senate passed the bill after discussions at the National Assembly, which included a public hearing where people shared their thoughts on the legislation.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who led Thursday’s session, highlighted the university's potential to impact beyond Nigeria.

Mr Akpabio said the university would benefit “the global community, not just Nigerians.” He also praised the 10th Senate for focusing on education-related laws.

Earlier, Muntari Dandutse, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, shared the committee's report on the bill.

Mr Dandutse mentioned that setting up FUTIA and other universities would improve access to technology-based higher education for Nigerians.

After reviewing each part of the bill, the Senate read it for the third time and approved it.

The Senate also passed bills to establish the Federal University of Health Sciences in Funtua, Katsina State, and the Federal University of Technology in Babura, Jigawa State.