President Tinubu Commissions over N400m Tetfund projects at ATBU Bauchi
Samuel Luka
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has on Saturday commissioned four fully furnished buildings executed by the Tertiary Education Trust fund (Tetfund) at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi, worth over N4.2 million.
Represented by the Honourable Minister of foreign affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, the president commended the Tetfund for its various interventions across tertiary institutions.
“I am pleased to be here at the ATBU for the commissioning of the projects executed by Tetfund. I wish to extend profound gratitude to his Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the opportunity to represent him and perform the inauguration of these iconic projects”, the minister said.
While commending the President for the commitment he has demonstrated towards educational development of Nigeria since coming on board in May 29 2023, the minister applauded him for the introduction of education friendly initiatives such as the students loan to ease access to tertiary education for indegene students.
He also appreciated the president for meeting personally with the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to discuss the welfare of Nigerian Students and the recent waiver he granted on the ‘No work, No pay order on the academic staff union of universities (ASUU).
According to him, the waver will pave a way for members of the union to receive parts of their withheld salaries.
“These are part of the conscious efforts been made by this administration to address students’ challenges and create industrial harmony between staff union and the government”, he said.
The minister further explained that having recognized the role of Tetfund in the development of public tertiary education in Nigeria, and in a bid to further strengthen the activities of the fund, the president also approved the implementation of the upward review of the education tax to three percent up from 2.5 percent with effect from September 2023.
Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said such approach by the president will in no small measure, contribute more to the improved funding of the education sector and the development of public tertiary institutions in the country.
While congratulating the university for benefitting from the Tetfund intervention, the minister commended the Tetfund under its executive secretary, Architect Sony Echono for their efforts in effectively discharging the mandate of the fund for the continued development of public tertiary education in Nigeria.
He said that the projects sited in the university will further enhance teaching and learning as well as improvement of academic standard, adding that educational development forms the integral part of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s renewed hope agenda.
The minister said that the president’s resolve to continue to provide the necessary support towards making educational institutions globally competitive for economic and technical development of the country is highly condemnable.
Ambassador Tuggar said over the years, the federal government has through the Tetfund, performed exceptionally in the provision of physical infrastructure, support for academic staff training and development, book publication, ICT, research and development, among others in public tertiary education and schools across the country.
He assured that the Tinubu led federal government is totally committed towards the provision of greater support and the enabling environment for the Tetfund to further improve on its performance.
“I am delighted that four projects, as earlier stated by the representative of the Tetfund executive secretary, are valued at four hundred and seventy two million, one hundred and twelve, five hundred and forty six and eighty three Kobo will be commissioned at the university today”, he said.
The minister mentioned the projects to include, departmental building, classrooms and laboratories and another academic building for school of management technology.
Our Corresspondent reports that the projects were executed for the Faculty of Science and Management Technology at the Gubi Campus of the university.
Speaking earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor M. A. Abdulazeez who thanked the minister for coming to commission the facilities, expressed delight that the movement of the Faculty will bring to the number of Faculties that have moved to the Gubi main campus from Yelwa campus to four.
Prof Abdulazeez who thanked Tetfund for considering the university worthy of the projects, recalled that when the central administration of the University moved into the Senate building at Gubi in the year 2010, only the faculty of Agriculture was sited there.
“However, thirteen years
after, the campus now hosts in addition, the Faculty of Technology Education, the Faculty of Management Technology, the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Medical Sciences, the Post Graduate School,
the Directorate of Entrepreneurship and, indeed, the main Library of the University”, he said.
The Vice Chancellor who attributed the aforementioned achievements almost entirely to the intervention of the Tertiary Education Fund, said as academics, the university is confident that the minister will from this point; take more interest in the progress of our
University.
Prof Abdulazeez who observed that without the Tetfund intervention over the years, the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University could not have realized its dream of moving to this
campus, said most of the structures in the institution were provided throughTetfund intervention.
He assured that the management of
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University will continue to justify the confidence reposed in them to uphold the virtue of excellence.