ACCI, Abuja Varsity Strengthen Partnership to Enhance Economic Growth

ACCI, Abuja Varsity Strengthen Partnership to Enhance Economic Growth

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), and the University of Abuja are strenghtening their partnership to foster economic growth and national development.

Dr Abubakar Al-Mujtaba, the ACCI President, represented by his 1st deputy president, Emeka Obegolu, said this at the 3rd Anniversary of ACCI and University of Abuja Day held in Abuja on Wednesday.

The relationship between the chamber and the academic institution started with the Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2021.

The MoU ensured both parties prepared a skilled work force, business and educational institution to preserve the nation’s competitiveness and economic strength in response to a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive world.

Al-Mujtaba said:” since the signing of the MoU in 2021, the university has been collaborating with the four Centres of the ACCI.

”The relationship has been cordial and mutually beneficial and call for a continuous closer synergy between the Chamber as a business community and your academic institutions to fast-track national development.

”We have seen that through this partnership, the collaboration between industry and academia has continued to lead to the development of innovation and improvement of existing goods and services.

”We will keep learning from other clime, where the business communities relate with the academia in building strong structure for economic development and mentoring the youth as we keep preparing them for the future.”

He said to strengthen both parties collaboration, they both approved the appointment of five nominees from ACCI as Industry Lecturers in the School’s newly established Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

”This partnership aims to produce graduates equipped with the skills and high-level expertise needed to deliver quality services of international standards.

”We look forward to a continous working relationship with the University in 2024 and beyond,” he said.

Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Abuja, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, said the major problem of the country was development.

According to him, this problem has lingered because our universities are far away from the industry, thus, the reason for the relationship between University of Abuja and ACCI.

Na’Allah urged other universities in the country to take a queue from the UniAbuja to collaborate with the industry to bridge this gap.

While reiterating achievements birthed by the relationship, the vice-chancellor urged the chamber to create a unit that would review the institutions curriculum, to make it acceptable by the industry.

He said the School had a student empowerment programme that thought the students work ethics and allowed them work for certain hours and earn an income.

Na’Allah reiterated the enormous opportunities in the institutions and called on the ACCI to organise its members to take advantage of these opportunities for economic advancement.

He also appealed to the chamber to push for Federal Government’s immediate approval of the institution as a Free Trade Zone, to enable businesses and industries therein to benefit.

”We are taking this relationship seriously and we want the chamber to do the same because whatever is achieved is for the good of Nigeria.

”The future of the university is tied with the future of Nigeria and we must be at the fore front in impacting development for this nation,” Na’Allah said.

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She said the chamber was working on an initiative for the University of Abuja in this regard which it hoped to implement in the first quarter of 2024.