ASR Africa hands over ₦250m admin block to UDUS health college in Sokoto
- ASR Africa has donated a ₦250 million administrative block to Usmanu Danfodiyo University's College of Health Sciences in Sokoto.
- The building, named Abdul Samad Rabiu Admin Block, has 20 staff offices and sits inside the UDUTH complex.
- The university said the facility helped during its Medical and Dental Council accreditation exercise.
The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) has handed over a newly built administrative block worth ₦250 million to the College of Health Sciences of Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS) in Sokoto.
The building, named the Abdul Samad Rabiu Admin Block, was commissioned on Tuesday at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) complex, according to Leadership.
It contains 20 staff offices, including the office of the departmental head, a panel room, staff conveniences and storage space. The university said the block will give lecturers and researchers more room to work.
Why it matters for medical students
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bashir Garba, said the facility was already useful when the university went through accreditation by the Medical and Dental Council. He said it covered part of the infrastructure the council needed to see.
Garba described the donation as historic and thanked ASR Africa's chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, for what he called years of philanthropy. He promised the university would put the building to good use.
“I want to assure ASR Africa and its Chairman... that we will make the best use of this edifice,” Garba said.
For students training as doctors and health workers in Sokoto, accreditation is not a small matter. A school that fails or struggles to renew it can face limits on admissions and on the value of its certificates. Better facilities help the college keep its programmes running and its graduates competitive.
Part of a wider grant scheme
The Managing Director and CEO of ASR Africa, Dr Ubon Udoh, said the project is one of 30 grants to 30 universities in Nigeria. He said UDUS scored very high in the initiative's assessment.
Udoh said the donation shows the commitment of Rabiu, who chairs BUA Group, to programmes in health, education and social development.
ASR Africa was set up in 2021 to fund homegrown solutions to development problems in health, education and social development across Africa.
What happens next: The university takes over the block and is expected to move staff into the new offices. ASR Africa said it is open to more partnerships with UDUS, though no new projects have been announced.
