By Alice Etuka, Abuja
In view of the planned nationwide protest, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has charged Nigerian students to be on the watch out in all campuses and protect school infrastructure by ensuring that hoodlums do not infiltrate the campuses to cause havoc.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono gave the charge on Monday, July 29, 2024 while
speaking with a delegation of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) led by its National President, Comrade Lucky Emonefe in Abuja.
Echono tasked the students to be vigilant and ensure that nobody destroys TETFund assets on their campuses:
“I am enjoining you today to please be on the watch out in all your campuses. All our TETFund assets, all the buildings that taxpayers money has been used to provide; not only should you ensure that you protect them, please nobody should go and destroy them. Let us not give chances to these hoodlums who will take advantage of your legitimate demands to cause havoc,” he said.
The Executive Secretary, who stressed the need to ensure a stable academic calendar, informed that when President Bola Tinubu was told about frequent disruptions in the academic calendar, he gave specific instructions to the minister to ensure that there was harmony in the sector, “so we can have a predictable academic calendar that our students will go to school and know when they will graduate and ensure that is kept.
“We are also pleased that this same president gave a charge to us at TETFund that we must do everything possible to improve the learning experience of our students, the quality of education we are getting and improve your welfare on campus.”
Echono therefore disclosed that the Fund had commenced the construction of 36 modern hostel facilities in tertiary institutions in 2024 and had been given the directive by the president to increase them to 72 in 2025.
“This year we are doing about 36 of them and are at various stages; many of them have fulfilled procurement circle. Others are being done through PPP. I was there to launch the one in Akwa Ibom and I have been informed that three others are ready to commence.
“But the good news is that Mr President has directed that we intensify this. So instead of doing 36, next year we’ll be doing 72,” he said.
On the issue power in campuses, Echono lamented that some universities were charged between N300 million to N400 million as electricity bill in one month, wondering how the institutions can cope if there is no urgent intervention.
He therefore disclosed that TETFund has commenced conversations and held a meeting with people from the Ministry of Power to find a way to address the issue of power supply in tertiary schools.
“It’s going to be one of the major issues we are going to look at when we call our major stakeholders meeting of all heads of schools. We have to put our heads together to see how we need to have alternative power sources that will reduce the burden.
“As I speak, some universities are getting N300 million, N400 million bill for electricity in one month. How can they cope? Some are even rationing; they have light for only four hours a day,” he said.
He further revealed that the president has also directed the immediate payment of four months salary arrears owed Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
He therefore urged the student leaders to dissuade other youths from engaging in acts that could cause social disorder as government was willing to listen to their demands.
Echono noted that government has heard the youths and is willing to address all the demands they are making, urged aggrieved youths to seek negotiation channels rather than resort to protests they can’t guarantee would not be hijacked by hoodlums.
The TETFund boss said president Tinubu listens to all complaints and urged the students to articulate their demands and seek audience with those in authority for negotiation.
“Whatever is the concern of our students, what are their demands and what are their expectations, we make bold to say, we have a listening president, we have access to this president and when you make your views known we’ll always convey it,” he said.
Echono’s remarks were coming on the heels of fruitful engagements between the Nigerian government and students, which led to the students effectively pulling out of the planned protest and opting for negotiation.
On his part, the National President of NANS, Emonefe, noted that the leadership of NANS had resolved not to go on a national protest because it realised that most of the interventions the students were enjoying were not gotten through protests.
