The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill to establish an Entrepreneur University in the Ibile, Ikorodu area of Lagos.
The bill sponsored by two Lagos Lawmakers, Babajimi Benson and Kalejaiye Adeboye Paul is intended to address the shortage of skilled manpower in the country and provide avenues for enhancing entrepreneurial education and fostering business innovation among the youth.
Benson said when established the proposed university will boost the economic prowess of the nation, adding that the plan for the institution is born out of a vision to address the critical need for entrepreneurship education and development in Nigeria.
Justifying the need for the institution, the co-sponsor, Paul said conventional universities have not been able to meet some of the development needs of the country hence the need for a specialized institution.
“We are in an era where nobody should leave the university and be looking for a white-collar job because they are no longer there. So, we need a specialised university like the Ibile Entrepreneurial University which will train students from their first year to their final year on entrepreneurial development.
“We are looking at a university that will address skill acquisition, address the issue of self-employment in terms of training in commerce, industry, and others and people will come out of the university and start from scratch to set up something and become employers of labour.
The bill comes at a time when the Academic Staff Union of Universities has criticised the establishment of more Institutions at a time when existing ones bare have funds to survive.
