Muslim community establishes varsity in Abuja

A religious organisation, Muslim Community Centre (MCC), Abuja, has proposed the establishment of Monument University, Bwari, Abuja.

In a statement, a member of MCC’s University Planning Committee (UPL), Prof. Ismail Junaidu, said documents on the centre’s intent for the development of the private university were submitted to the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, on July 8, in Abuja by the Chairman of UPL, Prof. Ismaila A. Tsiga.

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Prof. Junaidu said the centre proposed the institution “considering its experience in the provision of educational services to the general public, particularly in the FCT, and cognisant of its obligation to meet the current demand for higher education with strong moral perspectives in Nigeria.”

The decision to set up the university was taken in 2012, and thereafter, UPC was formed to handle the necessary modalities, including how to meet the requirements of NUC.

He said, “So far, the MCC has acquired 100 hectares, as well as processed and obtained the official Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) for the allocated land”, adding that the Academic Brief, Master Plan and the University Law had been developed.

According to the statement, MCC was established in November, 1991, as a registered association by a group of concerned Muslims who sought to establish a social and comprehensive educational centre for all Muslims. It has an approved constitution, Board of Trustees (BOT) and governing board, which make policies and oversee its operations. The members come from professional backgrounds: academia, finance, architecture, engineering, among others, who are all volunteers and do not receive remuneration for their services.

The MCC earlier founded the first Islamic-based secondary school, Fou’ad Lababidi Islamic Academy, in the FCT in 1995, which has more than 1,000 learners enrolled into its five schools and other learning programmes.