Peter Obi donates N20million to Faculty of Dentistry, University of Calabar

Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has donated N20million to support the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Calabar to  immediately upgrade its facilities to ensure that about 300 students of the Faculty are not thrown out of the institution due to no fault of theirs.

The students,  some of who are already in their fourth and fifth years in the institution were reported to be at risk of not graduating because the university allegedly admitted more than the number officially approved by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), and thus did not have facilities, such as dental chairs, for all those admitted.

As the students progressed through the years, the authorities kept assuring them that the anomaly would be rectified till now, when most of them were close to graduation, and were allegedly told to change to other schools or drop out and go to learn some trades.

After Mr. Obi intervened in a similar crisis being faced by the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Nigeria Nsukka last week, where he donated N15 million, the University of Calabar students cried out about their plight and sent a ‘Save Our Souls’ plea to the former Governor of Anambra State.

In a post on his X (former Twitter) handle, Mr. Obi confirmed that he has heeded the desperate cry of the students and rallied to their aid with a “modest” donation of N20million to address the issue to ensure that the students are not disadvantaged.

He wrote:

“Following the SOS appeal I got last week and my subsequent visit to the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I received a similar SOS appeal from the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Calabar on Saturday, highlighting a similar issue.

“Today, I was in Calabar to meet with the students, and after my interaction with them, I offered my commitment towards ensuring their education is not derailed. I made a modest donation of ₦20 million to support the Faculty’s immediate requirements of providing dental chairs to equip the studies of the students.

“I urge the Government to prioritise critical areas of development of education, healthcare and pulling people out of poverty. The government is to give this situation urgent attention by providing both financial and institutional support to the university leadership and assisting these students who have worked so hard to ensure this issue is resolved and their education remains uninterrupted.

“I thank the Vice Chancellor and her team for all the hard work they have put in to ensure that these students are not made to suffer for circumstances that are in no way their fault. At this critical time in our nation, we must stop neglecting healthcare, education and pulling people out of poverty.

“We must, as leaders, build a country where our students can focus on learning without a lack of basic facilities and tools. We must do better as a nation. Our children must not continue to lose their future in Nigeria. A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO.”