Concerns deepened within the ATBU community on Thursday as the Alumni Association highlighted what it described as an alarming shift in the institution’s founding structure. Their worry stems from a recent amendment discovered in the bill before the National Assembly—an adjustment they believe strikes at the very heart of the university’s mandate.
According to the association, the controversial amendment quietly removes the word technology from the Act that established Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. Alumni leaders argue that such a revision is not cosmetic but represents a deliberate push to redesign the school into a conventional university, stripping it of the specialised role it has played for decades.
Long before this development came to public attention, the alumni body had been vocal about its disapproval of attempts to reclassify the institution. Their position was reinforced by earlier objections from staff unions and the university’s management, all of whom questioned the intentions behind the bill sponsored by Senator Shehu Buba of Bauchi South.
In his statement addressing the issue, the National President of the association, Mohammed Wada, warned that the proposed transformation could dismantle the school’s engineering-driven foundation. He described ATBU as one of the North’s strongest pillars of STEM education, deeply rooted in applied sciences, engineering training, and research-led technological innovation.
From the alumni perspective, altering the university’s identity risks more than a change in name or structure. They fear a ripple effect that may weaken the region’s capacity to compete in global scientific advancement. The concern is that reclassification could dilute ongoing research efforts, disrupt engineering programmes, and shift attention away from technology-focused development.
The association emphasised that the implications extend beyond campus boundaries. In their view, the North’s long-term growth depends heavily on institutions that can strengthen innovation, support industrial expansion, and equip graduates for a technology-centered global economy. Removing ATBU’s specialised status, they argue, threatens this ecosystem.
While the National Assembly continues to consider the bill, the alumni group insists the amendment amounts to a fundamental reorientation of ATBU’s purpose. They cautioned that such a move could undermine decades of progress, weaken the workforce pipeline for technical industries, and leave the region disadvantaged in the long run.
