Chairman of the Governing Council, Federal School of Surveying, Oyo State, and the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Abdulganiyu Adebomehin, has disclosed that the National Assembly has granted approval for the upgrade of the school to the status of a university.
Adebomehin stated this on Monday while speaking with newsmen shortly after the 64th Governing Council meeting, which was held at the institution. Justifying the upgrade of the surveying school to a full-fledged university, Adebomehin said the school already had the expanse of land, equipment, and knowledge to excel as a university.
“We have done the First Reading, Second Reading, and Public Hearing at the National Assembly. And after this, they will pronounce it as a university,” the Surveyor-General said.
“The school has been in existence for over 100 years. And in terms of landmass, equipment, and knowledge, we have them. In fact, when you talk about surveying in Nigeria, this is the school. This is the citadel of knowledge in surveying. So, if anybody claims to be a surveyor and has not had anything to do with this school, something is missing somewhere,” he added.
Adebomehin stressed that surveying is synonymous with development, adding that the body was spearheading a move to remap Nigeria as a whole.
“So, when you talk about development and nobody is talking about surveying, then there is a problem. And that’s why we are moving from one place to the other now, talking to authorities to help us remap Nigeria as a whole. It is only when you have a map that you have everything at your fingertips. So, surveying is synonymous with development,” Adebomehin said.
Additionally, he disclosed that the Governing Council meeting provided a Scheme of Service for the school, which, according to him, spells out everything you should or should not do in a particular situation.
“We have two schemes of service going side by side. We have been able to address one of them, and then give the school its own Scheme of Service during the 64th Governing Council. And under the Scheme of Service, you can’t just arbitrarily fix anything. For example, there was a circular that stipulated that for you to be a rector and a principal lecturer, you must have a PhD. The Scheme of Service regulates the activities of the school, from the Rector down the ladder to the least officer,” he added.
Highlighting the relevance of surveying, the Surveyor-General said the number of hours to be used onboard an aircraft is determined by surveying, through taking the first coordinate of where you are and the coordinate of where you are coming from.
“And as the plane moves, there’s a programme that refines it and tells you what distance you still have to cover, so it’s purely surveying,” Adebomehin said.
He said that warfare is now the warfare of surveyors, noting that using drones in combat is still surveying.
“What we are having now where people are using drones to fight is still surveying. All I need is to know the coordinate of where you are, the coordinate of where I am, calculate the distance, and then I tow the drone to move in a particular direction and hit whatever at a targeted spot. So, when you talk of warfare now, it is the warfare of surveyors,” the Surveyor-General said.
The Rector of the school, Dr Olayinka-Dosunmu Nihinlola, while speaking with newsmen, disclosed that the Governing Council of the school had ratified the appointments of two principal officers: the Registrar, Dr Gabriel Adebayo, and the Bursar, Mr Onikede Kamil. The appointments take effect from May 17, 2026.
Additionally, the Rector said the Governing Council approved the appointment of the School Librarian, Dr Kennedy Eiriemiokhale, as provided for in the enabling law.
Eiriemiokhale bagged his doctorate in Library and Information Science from the University of Ilorin. He assumed office on February 2, 2026. All the appointments are to run for a five-year tenure.
The Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, founded in 1908, is the first of its kind in Africa.
