President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR has approved the appointment of Professor Umar Adam Katsayal, mni as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, Katsina State.
A letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr Magdalene Ajani, 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 congratulating the Vice-Chancellor, the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo charged the Vice-Chancellor to run with the vision that birthed the institution, graduating scholars that will break new grounds with cutting-edge interventions in the country’s transportation sector.
The Transport Minister also implored the Vice Chancellor to make the institution a university of national unity and a pride of the nation.
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.
Umar 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 was also 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.