Oyo Govt partners France to commission block of classrooms, French teaching facilities

The Oyo State government has announced a partnership with the French government that includes, among other things, commissioning a block of classrooms, an administrative office building, and French teaching and documentation facilities.



The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Alhaja Aminat Atere who, along with the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Jerome Pasquier, launched the facilities and expressed their joint beliefs that this project will lead to more Oyo State- France collaborations.



During her speech at the project commissioning at Iyaganku, Ibadan, the Permanent Secretary stated that the block of four classrooms was one of many future projects between the Oyo State and French governments.



She said: “The Commissioning of this block of classrooms that we are witnessing today is just one of the results of the collaborations between the Oyo State Government and the French Government.”



“We acceded to a request to release funds for a block of classrooms with an office building and toilet facilities but these collaborations are by no means one-sided.”




“The French Government has provided funding for other projects happening here in Oyo State, for example, our plan to complete 200km of roads in the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) is supported by the French Government.”



She further explained that the Seyi Makinde-led administration has officially launched the Support to Women Entrepreneurship in the Agrifood sector in Nigeria (SEFAN/SWEAN) Programme, another Oyo State- French collaboration.




“So, let me again thank the French Ambassador, His Excellency Jerome Pasquier, for all the support his government has given us in the past two years. As I said earlier in the day, when you get three visits in two years from the representatives of one country, it is safe to say you have gone from being acquaintances to becoming friends. And so, we thank you for this friendship.”



“Our prayer is that these collaborations continue. Let me quickly talk about the significance of this centre located here in Oyo State.”




“Despite the popularity and wide usage of English, French is still considered a major language of international relations, here in West Africa, we have countries where French is their official language.”



“Even here in Oyo state, some of our closest international neighbours are French-speaking countries. So if we are looking to trade across borders then we need countries like this, which promotes the learning and teaching of the language.”




“The classrooms and office that we are commissioning today will further serve the needs of the students and administrative staff, and what we are hoping for is further expansion so that this place goes from being a regional to a national and even international centre for learning French.”