The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone C, on Thursday called on Nigerian universities to emulate the culture of academic consistency and excellence that was adopted by the University of Ilorin.

Mr Adio Odunjo, the Coordinator of NANS Zone C, made the call in Ilorin, while presenting the ``NANS Best University Award'' to the University of Ilorin.

He noted the culture of academic consistency and excellence had distinguished the institution from others over the years.

Odunjo noted that strikes, embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), had become an annual ritual for other universities across the country.

He, however, said that NANS had embarked upon a useful and productive engagement with stakeholders, including policy makers, in the education sector.

"We are trying to mediate in order to find lasting solutions to the problems confronting the education sector in Nigeria," he said.

Odunjo noted that the University of Ilorin was the only public university that had the most stable academic calendar in the country.

In his remark, Prof AbdulGaniyu Ambali, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, commended NANS for the award.

He pledged to ensure that the University of Ilorin and its students made positive contributions to the country's development.

Ambali stressed that the university had a student-oriented approach, pledging that it would not embark on anything that was detrimental to the interests of its students. (NAN)