Gov Mohammed, TETFund Inaugurate Projects at Bauchi State University

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Bauchi government has inaugurated a 2.6km access road at the main campus of Bauchi State University.

This was as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) launched the university’s N1 billion 2,000-capacity Central Library Complex. 

The inauguration was part of activities marking the university’s maiden combined convocation ceremony last week.

Inaugurating the project, Governor Bala Mohammed said a confident contracting firm was engaged to execute the one point four billion naira project in line with the contractual agreement.

Mohammed, who said education development remained the priority of his government, noted that similar projects would be executed in all the state-owned high institutions of learning across the state.

He called on TETFund to provide the university with more interventions that would go a long way in complementing his administration’s quest to enhance the quality of education and pursue the reduction of out-of-school children.

After that, the governor inaugurated some TETFund intervention projects in the university.

Speaking on behalf of the university community, the Pro-Chancelor, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, who described the project as a move to address the plight of the institution, expressed hope that when completed, it would provide a better place for teaching and learning.

The Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, said the project was approved in the 2017-2019 merged annual intervention.

Echono said the university had been a beneficiary of the fund’s interventions from 2012 when it became enlisted as a beneficiary of its interventions.

“From 2012 to date, TETFund has allocated N17.3 billion for infrastructure-related interventions only, cutting across the annual, special high impact and zonal interventions, among others,” stated the TETFund boss.

He added that “with about 97 per cent of funds already accessed, we note with delight that these funds are being deployed judiciously in the provision of requisite facilities, which are obviously seen in various locations on the campus here.” 

Echono promised that the fund would continue to ensure that its interventions were sustained and improved to enable government-owned tertiary institutions to undertake impactful projects that would make them globally competitive.

In his remarks, Hon. Bappah Aliyu Misau, a member of the House Committee on TETFund, said the fund had also sponsored 100 lecturers studying for PhDs in foreign and local institutions, totalling N955 million.

He added that 143 lecturers were also sponsored for master’s degrees in both foreign and local institutions, totaling N359 million, among others.

Also speaking, the institution’s vice-chancellor, Prof. Fatima Tahir, lauded TETFund for the ‘milestone’ intervention, adding that the project would help shape the institution’s future.

“On behalf of our university, I extend our deepest gratitude to the federal government of Nigeria and TETFund for their commitment to education and for believing in the transformative power of knowledge,” she said.