As part of the activities during its 97^th meeting, the UDS Governing Council under the able leadership of its chairman Prof. Wayo Seini, supported by the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Gabriel Ayum Teye paid a courtesy call on the overlord of Dagbon, His Royal Majesty, Ya Na Abubakari Mahama II at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi on Saturday March 26, 2022.

The visit was to afford Management the opportunity to introduce the new Council Chairman and his team to the overlord. The visit was also aimed at strengthening the existing relationship between the university and the Ya Na’s palace.

Welcoming the delegation to the Gbewaa palace, on behalf of the Ya Na, Nyab Zanbgalun Naa II, Dr. Yakubu Mahama, congratulated the members of the Governing Council on their appointment onto the Governing Council. The Ya Na thanked the governing council for the visit “I appreciate your efforts in making this visit possible for us to interact so that I can get to know the nature of your work and how I can be of help to make it easier for you to get things done through the academia for the development of our region” he said.

The overlord of Dagbon challenged the new council to work even harder to ensure the glorious stories and achievements of the University do not dwindle with the weaning off of the Wa and Navrongo campuses as fully fledged Universities. He further challenged the University as a research body, to consider developing mechanisms that will enhance the traditional ways of picking shea nuts and processing shea butter to reduce the suffering of especially, women and boost the local economy.

His Royal Majesty stressed that, establishing the Yendi Campus is dear to his heart and that of the kingdom, adding that he continues to lobby the government and other relevant organizations to get some infrastructure on the land for the University’s Yendi campus to take off in the traditional capital of Dagbon. He challenged the Governing Council, management and staff of the University to expedite action to start the Yendi Campus despite the global economic challenges.

For his part, the Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Wayo Seini appealed to the people of Dagbon through the Ya Na and his subjects, to uphold education by enrolling their wards in school, adding that education is the panacea to many of the developmental challenges faced by the northern part of the country in particular.  Prof. Wayo Seini, who is a native of Dagbon, added that education made him what he is today and for Dagbon to do away with poverty and underdevelopment, education needed to be prioritized.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Gabriel Ayum Teye also reiterated the need for formal education and praised the overlord for constantly reminding the people to enroll their wards in school. He assured the Ya Na of his administration’s commitment to establish the Yendi Campus as soon as possible, adding that UDS will not relent on its efforts at making that possible.

The team proceeded to inspect the 500 hectares UDS lands at Kpatia, a community about 7 kilometers along the Yendi-Gushegu road. The team, on return to Tamale, also visited the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) where it inspected the 4 story Medical School Block under construction. The tour ended with the visit to the Clinical Hostels which were constructed to accommodate the teaming numbers of medical students who go on practice at the Tamale Teaching Hospital every year. The 2 fully furnished hostel buildings have the total capacity of 450 beds. Management expressed the need to build fence walls around the hostels to safeguard the security of the occupying students.

Present on the tour were all Council Members and Management staff including the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar, the Finance Director, the Director of Works and Physical Development, the Council Secretary and representatives from the University Relations Office.