Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has directed immediate selection and sponsorship of indigent youths for degree programmes in high-value fields, including Piloting, Aeronautical Engineering and related disciplines.
He gave the directive on Tuesday during a meeting at the Government House in Maiduguri when he received Mr Issac Balami, the founder of Issac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management (IBUAM).
According to Zulum, the selection process will prioritise indigent youths who demonstrate academic potential but lack the financial means to pursue such expensive courses of study.
The governor stated, “On our part, as the government of Borno State, we will do everything possible to support this university within our reach.
“I want to most sincerely thank you for the offers you have given to the government and people of Borno State for the training of a sizeable number of aircraft planners and aircraft technicians.
“Deliberately, I invited the Commissioner for Education and the Executive Secretary of the scholarship board; they will liaise with you to see how candidates will be sent to your university.
“The Commissioner for Education and your team, you will identify the most vulnerable in the population who can benefit from this scheme: those who cannot afford, nor can their parents, to undertake those aeronautics courses. I don’t want anyone close to the governor, the deputy governor or the commissioner to be selected. Purely on merit! Mind you, I have to vet the list after the selection process.”
Earlier in his address, Balami announced that his institution would provide free training to an initial batch of Borno indigenes in Aircraft Planning and Aircraft Technology.
He said the gesture was an act of giving back to the society, inspired by a scholarship he received years ago from the Borno State Government, which paved the way for his own career in aeronautics.
He stated that one person from each of the 27 local governments in Borno would be trained as aircraft planners and aircraft technicians.
