Omuo-Ekiti Community Pledges Land for Proposed AI Academy

Traditional rulers and community leaders in Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State, have pledged to voluntarily allocate a large parcel of land for a proposed Artificial Intelligence Academy. The pledge was made on Thursday during a public hearing on a bill seeking to establish the academy, organised by the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South), aims to promote and strengthen artificial intelligence education and research in Ekiti State and across Nigeria. Senator Adaramodu said the academy would create employment opportunities for young Nigerians and ensure the host community benefits from greater federal presence.

The paramount ruler of Omuo-Ekiti, Noah Omonigbehin, represented by Chief Taiwo Alonge, expressed the community’s readiness to host the institution, stating it would equip youth with globally relevant AI skills. Professor Olusola Kolawole, a former Dean of the University of Abuja’s Faculty of Medicine, described Omuo-Ekiti as strategically located near several states, and noted the community has already secured a temporary site and is prepared to provide land for a permanent location.

The proposal comes amid a federal moratorium on new tertiary institutions. In 2024, the Federal Executive Council approved a seven-year ban on establishing new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to focus on funding existing ones. Despite this, the National Assembly continues to process bills for new institutions, drawing criticism from stakeholders like ASUU, who argue it stretches limited resources.

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