By Ngozi Nwankwo
In a bid to promote cutting-edge research, innovation, and specialized skill development for national growth, Tertiary Education Trust Fund had officially performed foundation-laying of Centre for Excellence ceremony at the Abuja University.
While performing the foundation-laying ceremony at Jahi in Abuja on Tuesday,
the Executive Secretary, TETFUND, Arc. Sonny Echono said the Centre is a platform-sponsored center of excellence in leadership and governance.
Echono expressed optimism the Centre would not only produce great leaders for Nigeria but provide a venue where leaders from other parts of the world would come to share their ideas, give their advice, and also give the recommendations that would reverberate throughout the globe.
Echono, conducted the foundation- laying for the Centre alongside the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi.
Echono also disclosed that TETFund would, between now and October, commission about 467 projects across tertiary institutions nationwide.
He said leadership remains one of the most critical elements of national development, stressing that nations rise or fall based on the quality of leadership they produce.
According to him, effective leadership requires the collective harnessing of intellectual, human and material resources, adding that when these efforts are efficiently coordinated, they can drive national development aspirations.
“It is my prayer and hope that this centre will become a stopping point for every leader visiting our country. It is not by accident that it is located in the nation’s capital,” he said.
The TETFund Executive Secretary charged the contractors handling the project to rise to the challenge, stressing that the expectation was for a facility of international standard, assuring that TETFund would make funds available not only for the construction but also for the provision of top-quality furniture and equipment.
According to him, the centre is envisioned as more than just a conference hall or auditorium, but a world-class leadership facility where visiting heads of state and their delegations would feel at home, comparable to similar facilities anywhere in the world.
Echono commended the leadership of the University of Abuja for the stability and direction it has brought to the institution, pledging continued collaboration to realise the vision of the university’s founding fathers.
He said the university, by its name and mandate, must continue to project national unity, integration and excellence, particularly in leadership and governance.
On the commissioning of projects, he said it would be impossible for the agency to commission all projects directly, noting that at least 50 iconic projects would be selected across the states of the federation, with a minimum of two to three in each state.
He said these projects would showcase the impact of the present administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda on the transformation of Nigeria’s tertiary education landscape, inviting members of the media to participate in the nationwide commissioning exercises.
“In a few days, we will be commissioning projects in that university, and we will invite you to come and see them, because the Renewed Hope Agenda is real and you are going to see it.
“We have put together a very elaborate programme, and I am inviting the media to join us across the country. Between now and October, we have about 467 projects to commission across Nigerian tertiary institutions,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Fawehinmi, described the day as auspicious, noting that the groundbreaking ceremony marked a new chapter in the university’s partnership with TETFund.
Fawehinmi said the Abuja Leadership Centre would serve as a centre of excellence for public governance and leadership, positioned as a national hub for training future leaders who would play key roles in policy formulation and national development.
The Vice-Chancellor praised Echono’s leadership of TETFund, noting that under his stewardship, the agency has transformed tertiary education not only through physical infrastructure, but also in staff development, libraries and other critical facilities.
He expressed confidence that TETFund would ensure the timely completion and proper furnishing of the Abuja Leadership Centre so it could be effectively utilised to achieve its objectives.
Fawehinmi assured that the university would put the facility to its best use and described the project as a historic intervention that would be remembered for years to come.
“Today, we further cement our long-standing relationship, and we are happy to say that this Abuja Leadership Centre is a centre of excellence for public governance and leadership.
“It is a national hub for training future leaders who will stand their ground and be involved in policy decisions for the development of their country.
“We thank him and his team. We know that we have a long-standing relationship and we hope to nurture it well into the future. Our Executive Secretary, you have done very well over the years. You have led one of the most formidable intervention agencies for tertiary education and education in general in this country, and we are very proud of you,” he added.