Prof Charles Igwe, the Vice Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has laid a foundation stone for 2-story building World Bank (WB) funded Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power and Energy Development (ACE-SPED).
Igwe in a remark on Thursday in Nsukka said that the university would ensure the centre objective of providing solutions to problems of energy and power in Africa with local contents was achieved.
“I am happy laying the foundation stone of the centre, I implore the contractor handling the project to complete it at the specified time.
“This is the kind of thing I like to be associated with because my administration is results oriented , this why the university has recorded many achievements both in academics and infrastructural development,” he said.
The VC commended Prof. Emenike Ejiogu, the Director of the Centre, that led the team that wrote the proposal which WB selected as the best among hundreds of proposals from Africa.
“I commend WB for finding UNN worthy to host the centre and promised that UNN will not disappoint the bank.
In his remark, Ejiogu, who is also the Dean Faculty of Engineering, UNN said that, the centre was selected by world bank among over 134 proposals from Nigeria and other African countries
He said that the mission of the centre was to research on indigenous technology that would solve the problems of energy and power by providing local materials with local content.
The director disclosed that, among many students of the centre, over 35 foreign students were from Africa countries.
”The two-story building when completed will have laboratories, workshop halls, lecture theatres, office accomodations among others.
“The centre’s mandate is to develop indigenous technology that will address the problem of power and energy and end their importations.
“This centre started operation in UNN since 2019, has graduated some Masters and PhD students as well as sponsored many students on industrial attachment and courses within and outside the country,”he said.
The director commended UNN-VC for his maximum support, providing temporary accommodation to the centre as well as parcel of land in the university to build permanent office.
Ejiogu disclosed that through researches, the centre had produced electric insulator from ceremics with 100 per cent local content, discovered from rice husk energy conversion that would help to produce laptop and cellphone batteries among other things.
“This is an indication that the centre has already hit the ground running in its mission on using local content in solving the problems of power and energy.
“Recently UNN signed partnership agreement with some Japanese firms to develop software for them, it’s this centre that will handle the software development.
“The office block of the centre started today by the VC will be completed within 10 months duration as agreed,”he said.
Speaking, Prof Owuamaeze Illoeje, UNN’s Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering who is also a member of the centre said that he had no doubt the centre would find solutions to power and energy problems in Africa.
“I commend Prof Ejiogu for attracting this project. I was still around the faculty of engineering, he told me about his proposal to WB for the establishment of the Africa Centre of Excellence.
“The Ejiogu is a professor, full of ideas and innovations that’s why I gave him my maximum support.
“The project when completed will serve as African hub, focused in addressing the energy and power challenges of Africa through education, researches
and collaborations,” he said.
Also speaking, Mrs. Josephine Mbunwe, the World Bank Environmental and Social Safeguard Officer, assured that WB would monitor the project to ensure that the building work was constructed according to standard and specifications.
Earlier, Mr. Roland Mbaitessem, the Site Engineer of Ivory Link Nig Limited, the building contractor handling the project, promised that the building would be completed and handed over within ten months as agreed.
“This project will be completed and handed over witin 10 months as agreed, with quality work that will stand the test of time,” he said
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