The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone B/South-South, has urged President Bola Tinubu to grant presidential assent to the bill establishing the Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi (FUTIA), warning that further delay could prolong legal and administrative uncertainties surrounding the institution.
The appeal followed the passage of the FUTIA Establishment Bill, 2024, by the Senate on October 15, 2026, a development the students’ body described as a major step towards securing the university’s statutory foundation after years of operation without a dedicated establishment Act.
In a statement issued by its Spokesman and Public Relations Officer, Comrade Usen Johnson, NANS said presidential assent was now critical to strengthening the institution’s capacity to deliver technology-driven education, research and innovation.
The association argued that the absence of an establishment law could constrain key aspects of the university’s development, including course accreditation, access to interventions from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and eligibility for international research grants.
It therefore called on Tinubu to treat the bill as a priority, linking its speedy assent to the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its emphasis on youth empowerment, science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
NANS said FUTIA had the potential to expand opportunities for young people in the South-South, particularly through technology, innovation and enterprise, but stressed that a stronger legal foundation was necessary for the institution to realise its mandate.
The student body also credited Akwa Ibom South Senator, Ekong Sampson, with sponsoring and driving the bill through the legislative process, describing him as a leading advocate of education and human capital development.
It commended the leadership of the 10th National Assembly and the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund for their roles in advancing the legislation.
Beyond FUTIA, NANS cited Sampson’s reported sponsorship of bills seeking to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Akwa Ibom South and a Federal University of Medical Sciences in Eket, alongside the Child Rights Act Amendment Bill. It also listed his co-sponsorship of the South-South Development Commission Bill, which it said had been passed into law.
The association further highlighted what it described as the senator’s interventions in employment, student support and public infrastructure. These include reported employment and reinstatement assistance for more than 60 indigenes of Akwa Ibom South in federal institutions and uniformed services.
On educational support, NANS cited a reported N100 million grant to students from the district and an additional N10 million for law school students, as well as the construction of information and communication technology and computer-based testing centres in selected secondary schools.
Other projects listed by the association include staff quarters at Excellence College, a doctors’ call room at Immanuel Hospital, Eket, and an ongoing school block project at FUTIA.
It also identified a medical facility at General Hospital, Ikot Abasi, and the Ikot Ekpe-Ikot Unya Road project, facilitated through the Niger Delta Development Commission, among the interventions attributed to the senator.
The group further cited Sampson’s advocacy for the revitalisation of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), the proposed Federal University of Agriculture in Abak, the Ibom Deep Seaport and the completion of Nkari Dam.
However, NANS maintained that the immediate priority was to complete the legal process for FUTIA, arguing that the university’s long-term development prospects would be strengthened by presidential assent.
The association’s appeal now places the next step in the establishment process before the President, following the Senate’s passage of the bill. The timing of presidential assent was not stated in the announcement.
