RismadarVoice Reporters
September 30, 2026
The Yobe State House of Assembly has pledged to support increased budgetary funding for Yobe State University and facilitate access to interventions from relevant development agencies.
Speaker of the Assembly, Chiroma Mashio, committed on Tuesday when the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Muhammad Tahir, led members of the management team on a courtesy visit to the legislature.
Mashio said the university management would be invited to participate in the 2027 budget defence, assuring the institution that lawmakers would consider its funding and developmental needs.
He said the Assembly would work with the university to ensure adequate provisions were made in the 2027 state budget to enable the institution to effectively carry out its responsibilities.
The Speaker congratulated Tahir on his appointment as the university’s fifth substantive Vice-Chancellor and described the visit as timely as preparations for the 2027 budget continued.
Mashio also pledged the Assembly’s support in helping the university attract interventions from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, and other development institutions.
He said the legislature would use relevant platforms, including the Nigerian Speakers Conference, to facilitate engagements between the university and development agencies.
Beyond funding for the university, Mashio urged its management and academics to provide expert advice to the state government on improving primary and secondary education.
He expressed concern that weaknesses at the basic and secondary education levels could affect the quality of students eventually admitted into tertiary institutions.
Earlier, Tahir said the visit was aimed at strengthening cooperation between the university and the state legislature.
The Vice-Chancellor described lawmakers as important partners in the institution’s development and said their support would be needed to achieve its objectives.
Tahir said his administration, which assumed office in January 2026, had focused on improving academic standards, accountability and the university’s contribution to society.
According to him, the institution successfully conducted its first and second semester examinations for the 2025/2026 academic session and completed accreditation exercises for Medical Laboratory Science and Radiography.
He disclosed that 16 medical doctors had been sponsored for postgraduate training abroad, with seven already enrolled at Integral University in Lucknow, India.
Six others are expected to travel to Malaysia in October for further training, he added.
Tahir attributed the overseas training programme to the support of Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni.
He also disclosed that 32 academic staff members had received sponsorship for postgraduate studies within Nigeria, while 70 academic and non-academic staff had benefited from postgraduate programmes at the university.
The Vice-Chancellor listed the commissioning of the permanent site of the Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre among the institution’s recent achievements, saying the facility was constructed and equipped with support from the state government.
He added that the university introduced six new postgraduate programmes during the 2025/2026 academic session and established a new Faculty of Computing.
