The Founder of the highly rated private university, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has applauded the visit of an industrious, illustrious and a trust- worthy Nigerian, Dr. Festus. A. Fadeyi, Chairman/Managing Director, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (Nigeria) Limited to the university.
The brief visit which took place on Thursday 14th March, 2013 at the university in its ultra-modern campus in Ado-Ekiti was described as the dawn of an era of mutually beneficial relationship between Pan Ocean Oil corporation (Nigeria) Limited and Afe Babalola University.
The Founder, Aare Afe Babalola, acknowledged the interest and goodwill of Dr. Fadeyi for taking his time out of his tight schedule to visit the university. Aare Afe Babalola expressed his happiness and appreciation to Dr. Fadeyi for his exceptional support to him since the inception of ABUAD.
In his good will message, the Chairman/Managing Director, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (Nigeria) Limited, Dr. Festus Fadeyi, referred to Aare as a father, a mentor and, at the same time, a valuable friend. He congratulated the Founder, for his vision and exemplary commitment towards lifting the quality of education in Nigeria. He also acknowledged the efforts of the management and the entire staff of the institution for their enviable achievements and for being part of the ABUAD vision. In his words: “…I am excited to visit ABUAD and witness the progress that the University has recorded since its inception and I am highly impressed about what I have seen so far. I have been to various universities across the globe, but surprisingly, when I got to ABUAD, I thought I was still in Oxford, I never knew I was in Nigeria”. He described ABUAD as ‘’best of its kind’’.
Having taken due cognizance of the achievements of the university so far, the visiting oil magnate, Dr. Festus Fadeyi, assured the Founder that Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (Nigeria) Limited will support the University as the Founder continues with his crusade to set benchmark for quality tertiary education in Nigeria.
He also referred to the newly initiated programme by the Company, which is designed for young talents coming out of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The programme is tagged “University Internship Programme”. It will draw students from within and outside the country.
He explained that the programme will afford participating students the opportunity to work on projects that have real business impact and expose them to behavioral skills required to succeed in the work place.
To say the least, the ABUAD community was excited when the Chairman/Managing Director of the Company formally announced that Afe Babalola University has been selected as one of the universities that will benefit from the Pan Ocean University Internship Programme. He also revealed that the project will commence this year from ABUAD. He also promised to award scholarships to ten outstanding students of Afe Babalola University annually which will take effect from this academic session.
He assured the management of ABUAD that the supervision, mentoring and assessment of interns throughout their internship period will prepare them for long-term job placement in Pan Ocean Oil Corporation.
In conclusion, he pledged his continued support to the university in order to realize the vision and mission of the institution and urged every staff and students to embrace the excellent work culture prevalent in the university.
Delivering the vote of thanks, Prof. Orubuloye, a member of the Board of Trustees of ABUAD, expressed his gratitude to the visitor on behalf of the Founder, Management, Staff and the entire Students for the wonderful opportunity he has opened up to ABUAD students to be part of the laudable programme put in place by his organization. Prof. Orubuloye reasoned that the visit which lasted less than an hour could be described as a journey of a life time.