Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, on Tuesday said the university spent over N30 million on electricity in March.
Ambali disclosed this in Ilorin when he received members of the newly inaugurated Executive Council of the Postgraduate Students Association (POGSASS), in his office.
He informed the POGSASS executives that it had invested heavily on power supply because it was critical to research works.
Ambali said that the university was collaborating with a U.S. company to build a 500MW solar energy plant as part of efforts to tackle the challenge of power supply plaguing the country.
He therefore urged the post-graduate students of the institution to focus on quality research, especially on electricity.
He said that post-graduate research was critical to the citadel of learning due to the impact on their communities and on human lives in general.
Ambali congratulated the new POGSASS leaders on their election.
The vice-chancellor challenged them to come up with innovative solutions that could address the numerous challenges confronting the nation.
“We want you to be employers of labour notwithstanding the economic recession.
“When you think outside the box, you can take advantage of the economic recession to develop innovative solutions,” Ambali said.
Earlier in his speech, the new POGSASS President, Mr Olusola Tosin noted that the University of Ilorin was an institution known for peace and excellence.
Tosin promised that the new POGSASS executive council members would conform to the mission and vision of the university.