Vento Furniture has donated a hostel building to the University of Abuja (UNIAbuja) to further its corporate social responsibility initiatives.
The foundation laying ceremony which held at the university’s permanent site, had in attendance dignitaries from academia and other spheres of life.
In his remark, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Abdul-Rasheed Na-Allah, stated that the university in its present state could only accommodate less than 20% of its students.
“This is a welcome development, and the university management is appreciative of this gesture by Vento Furniture and Near Foundation in electing to construct a hostel for use by students in their academic pursuits.
“This is a major support that most public universities need in the country, and Vento Furniture has done well, and we make the assurance that the hostel would be put to good use,” he said.
Chairman of Vento Furniture, Ambassador Ahmed Magaji, stated that the organisation recognises the value of education and the attendant accommodation shortage for students in some public universities.
“We are aware of the accommodation challenge in most public universities, and the gesture to construct a hostel is borne out of our desire to be partners in progress. When completed, the “Adem Baba” hostel would be fitted with modern amenities.
“It is a smart hostel designed to accommodate 104 students at a time, and we have put in place a mechanism to ensure that the standard is maintained by regularly providing maintenance support,” he stated.
Some of the students interviewed expressed excitement with the prospect of a new student hostel in the university, stating that the Adem Baba hostel would ease the burden of accommodation, especially for new students.
It was stated that the construction phase is expected to last five months, and the university authorities would do the modalities for allocation.
It would be recalled that Vento Furniture, a premium furniture company in Nigeria, has been active in CSR programs nationwide.
The organisation had previously renovated some public secondary schools within the federal capital territory.
Also, it launched a personal hygiene programme for secondary school girls in select schools.