By Sarah NEGEDU
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Saturday challenged alumni of the University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT, to give back to the institution that shaped their careers, insisting that true gratitude is measured by action, not sentiment.
Wike made the call during the university’s 35th combined convocation and 50th anniversary celebration in Port Harcourt, where he was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Science degree for his contributions to public service and education.
The former Rivers governor used the moment not only to acknowledge the honour, but to roll out a detailed account of his interventions in the university, Rivers State University, and Nigeria’s legal institutions.
Addressing graduates, dignitaries, and members of the academic community, Wike stressed the need for public-spirited leadership and institutional loyalty, describing his record of projects as a reflection of his deep appreciation for the formative role UNIPORT played in his life.
“This also explains why I freely give to this institution whenever I have had the opportunity to do so. Throughout my duty tours, I have paid back to this great university sacrificially and to the best of my ability.
“I have done so, not out of convenience but as a deliberate pursuit of commitment to gratitude for a university that gave me so much,” he added.
The FCT Minister, who holds a degree in law from Rivers State University and earlier training from UNIPORT, said his earliest major gesture to the university came during his tenure as Minister of State for Education, when he established the Faculty of Law and constructed a befitting building for it.
He added that he also built a separate structure for the Faculty of Social Sciences, which had long shared space with the Faculty of Humanities, a move that helped both departments function independently and more effectively.
Wike further recalled how, as Governor of Rivers State, he funded the construction of a modern convocation arena for UNIPORT after the management reached out, citing the lack of a proper venue for large ceremonial events.
He said the same spirit of support guided his interventions at Rivers State University, where he built the Postgraduate Hostel as Obio/Akpor council chairman and later spearheaded numerous capital projects as governor.
“As Minister of State, Education, I raised N500 million through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund for the development of this university. As governor, I completed the construction of infrastructure for the Faculties of Environmental and Management Sciences.
“I also completed the Faculty of Law building built the College of Medical/Mechanical Sciences building, new Senate building, and National Union of Rivers State Students’ building,” he said.
He also listed the development of three satellite campuses in Etche, Emuoha, and Ahoada, as well as new hostel and academic blocks for clinical sciences, pathology, and other core medical programmes at the university’s teaching hospital.
Turning to the legal profession, Wike recounted a long list of contributions from the construction of the Rivers branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, to his support for the NBA’s national secretariat project in Abuja.
“I was also the only governor that contributed to the building of the National Secretariat of the NBA and to this end, Rivers was allotted a floor to name after its citizens,” he said.
He noted that his administration in Rivers introduced a judicial welfare scheme which ensured every retiring judge was provided with a furnished home and Certificate of Occupancy, in addition to brand new SUVs for all sitting judges.
He said he went on to build the Body of Benchers headquarters in Abuja where a hall is now named after Rivers as well as hostels and a grand auditorium for the Law School in Yenagoa. He also funded the construction of a new Law School campus in Port Harcourt, which he described as “far better than the headquarters in Abuja.”
“Currently, as Minister of the FCT, I am building an annex for the Body of Benchers, almost completed 10 bungalows for the Nigeria Law School in Bwari, and nearly completed a new Court of Appeal, Abuja Division,” Wike added.
“In addition, we are building 10 residential houses for the Judges of the Court of Appeal, 10 for the Federal High Court, and 20 for the FCT High Court.”
Wike explained that the enumeration of projects was not for showmanship but to set a precedent and challenge others to do the same.
