Abuja — The first indigenous University in Abuja has commenced the development of its site as the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Muhammed Adamu Aliero has laid the foundation stone for the institution.

Baze University, is a private tertiary institution sited along the Airport Road , Abuja with a vision to provide a distinctive quality-based world class educational institution to make a difference.

The FCT while performing the ceremony yesterday in Abuja noted that the need to set up the school arose to augment the absorption capacity of existing tertiary institutions in the country for candidates seeking admission

Represented by the Minister of State, Mr. Chuka Odom Aliero said, "here in Nigeria , it has been established that all government owned universities and polytechnics can only absolve about 10% of Nigerians desirous of a university degree or polytechnic diploma. This has led to a backlog of candidates who spend many years writing the matriculation examinations all in a bid to secure a place in the institutions of their choice", he lamented.

He said such venture would boost the quest by the present administration of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in achieve two aspects of the seven point agenda namely; education and human capital development while laying the foundation for the growth of a functional and technologically driven educational system.

While applauding the management of the university for the laudable effort of establishing the institution, the Minister nevertheless reminded them that the administration of a university was a very serious affair that requires deliberate and sustainable efforts over a long period of time to achieve positive results. He challenged them to "adhere strictly to the rules as contained in the guidelines of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the FCT's Department of policy implementation of the establishment and management of private universities and institutions".

Speaking earlier, Managing Director of Baze Research and Data Services and Promoter of Baze University, Hon. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, stated the institution which is to be a private venture with societal outlook and national focus to have international impact has the vision to be a distinctive quality-based educational institution making the difference in a nation's history through the positive impact of its service and graduate output.

On the sincerity of making a difference in the FCT, he said: "Our word is our honour' as it pertains to the establishment and maintenance of a most suitable academic environment synergizing world class human capital with best technology for creating and imparting the knowledge to develop and modernize the Nigerian society.

"Though we believe in the capacity of Nigerians to operate individually, we want to bring in expatriate doctors and professors in the ratio of one expatriate to one indigeneous academic," he said.

On the possible take-off date, Baba-Ahmed disclosed while disclosing that "though the take-off is not in my hand because the structural plan is still with the Federal Capital Development Authority and the application still pending with the Nigeria Universities Commission," he is hopeful that the institution will commence operations in October with about 600 students in two or three faculties and about 8,000 students when fully established.

"Faculties of the university when fully established would be Law, Management and Social Sciences, Information Technology, Environmental Sciences, and Engineering and respective postgraduate programs are to be added in due course", he disclosed.