Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, on Saturday, poured encomium on a business mogul, Dr Jimoh Ibrahim, as he bagged Doctor of Business of University of Cambridge, London.
Akeredolu, in his address during Ibrahim’s convocation ceremony at Judge Business School, Cambridge University, London, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Okitipupa, rejoiced with the business mogul for attaining the feat.
The governor commended him for investing his time and money, coupled with hard work in acquiring knowledge which, he said, had made him set a new record in academic pursuit.
“It offers me great pleasure to be here to witness the graduation ceremony of University of Cambridge, where one of our illustrious sons obtained the Doctor of Business of the university.
“I am told it is the first time the university will be awarding her first Doctor of Business in the last 800 years.
“Therefore, it is not only a great joy, the event also marks a significant punctuation in the history of our dear state and country, that a prominent citizen of Ondo State is obtaining Doctor of Business from Judge Business School.
“I have also been told that Ibrahim completed the degree in record six months before the university’s four-year schedule.
“The new record-setting shows that academic degrees can also be obtained like the iron laws of mega-projects on schedule,” he said.
According to the governor, the ‘incredible performance’ of Ibrahim at the university came with hard work and commitment to his primary goals.
“He has invested time and he has been here for six years. First was his University of Cambridge Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, after successfully completing Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree from University of Oxford.
“Thereafter, he started the four-year programme of the Doctor of Business degree of this great university and still counting in the acquisition of knowledge. I must congratulate him for a job well done. We are all very proud of you,” he said.
Akeredolu also noted that Ibrahim’s thesis, entitled: “The Paradox of Abandoned Projects in Nigeria” had x-rayed how projects were being abandoned in Nigeria.
“As identified in the thesis, the challenges are corruption, resource control, project goals, contractor selection and supervision,” he said.
The governor, however, said that his administration would not handover any abandoned project to his successor.
“A reasonable government must work towards achieving successful completion of its projects. Given the resources such projects can take, abandoning them at this critical period of our economic lives is not cost-effective,” he said.
Akeredolu said that his administration had completed several mega projects, stating, however, that they had exerted considerable pressure on the lean resources of the state.
“These megaprojects have gulped billions of naira. While some have been completed and delivered, several others, some of which are complex, may take over five years or thereabout to be completed.
“Our administration has continued to construct roads and bridges, among other infrastructure. We made a solemn pledge on assumption of office that we would complete all the projects abandoned by our predecessors.
“We are not unaware of the acute paucity of funds for the execution of projects. We are, however, poised to fulfill our promise as best as the financial situation permits.
“We intend to complete all the projects in the lifetime of our government, as we do not intend to handover any abandoned project to our successor,” he said.
The governor thanked the university for the opportunity given to Ibrahim to be the first to bag its doctoral degree in Business.
“We will return home with joy and an excellent opportunity to improve mega projects knowledge with the new skills acquired by Ibrahim, which, when put into use in our country, will surely change the narratives,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ibrahim is the APC candidate for Ondo South Senatorial District for the 2023 general elections.