FET spends N10.8m on COBES materials
By Mustafa Abubakar
The Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET), University of Ilorin, has disclosed that a total sum of N10,802,000.00 has been expended on materials to support its Community-Based Engineering Services (COBES) scheme, which commenced last Monday (September 28, 2026) and will last for two weeks, with 671 students participating in the exercise.
Speaking with the UNILORIN Bulletin last Wednesday (September 30, 2026) in his office, the COBES Coordinator, Prof. Y. L. Shuaib-Babata, said the materials purchased include 60 rechargeable lamps, 15 double-face industrial cooking burners, 60 packs of mosquito nets, 15 industrial gas regulators, 15 number of 12kg cylinders and 15 standard engineering toolboxes.
Prof. Shuaib-Babata said the exercise is being conducted at 15 locations within the Ilorin metropolis, where each students’ group is expected to identify engineering projects in the host communities and develop solutions to them.
According to him, each students’ group was given N200,000.00 as approved by the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Joshua Olanrewaju Olaoye, to execute the identified engineering projects.
He added that the host communities or volunteers may support the students financially to ensure the success of the projects.
Earlier, the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Joshua Olanrewaju Olaoye, charged the students to be good ambassadors of the University in their various assigned locations.
He also urged them to continue to prove their worth in their various communities as problem solvers and not forget to leave meaningful and impactful impressions behind by the time they will be leaving their assigned locations after this short period of their stay.
The students were encouraged to put to practice, with practical demonstration, such skills and the knowledge they have acquired in the classrooms.
The exercise, carried out under the supervision of the Organising Committee, comprising Prof. M. O. Sunmonu, Dr O. T. Popoola, Dr M. M. Odewole and Prof. S. A. Abdulkareem, is expected to provide students with practical exposure by enabling them to identify engineering challenges in their host communities and apply their knowledge and skills to develop solutions to the identified problems.
