As Educational infrastructure remains key to conducive learning environment and capacity building in any nation, Niger Delta APC youth group under the auspices of Niger Delta APC Youth Vanguard(ND APC YV) has commended the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, over transparent execution of projects across tertiary institutions in the country.
The commendation was made by the President and National Coordinator of Niger Delta APC Youth Vanguard, ND-APC YV, Comrade Fiawei Pathfinder along with the leadership of the group on a courtesy visit to the Tetfund Executive Secretary in his office in Abuja.
During the visit the group made a colourful presentation of its highest honour called Credence Of Honor to the Tetfund boss as the ‘Most Performed and Outstanding Executive Secretary of Tetfund Ever’, and also presented to him a ‘Landmark Achievement Excellence Award for Meritorious and Selfless Service’ in the education sector and humanity in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines during the courtesy visit, Pathfinder while speaking with the media said it became necessary for his group to come out to let Nigerians know what Echono is doing has he uses his leadership and wealth of experience and patriotism to galvanize infrastructural development in all Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
According to him, the TETFund boss has amazingly and enormously done well under the Buhari-led administration and deserve a commendation and therefore he will not hesitate to pass a vote of confidence on the him.
He also noted that under Echono’s leadership of TETFund, massive structures including Lecture Theatre, Academic Office Buildings, Blocks of Classrooms furnitures, laboratories and library equipments, also construction of road networks within the higher institutions, provision of potable pipe bone water and creating serene good environment for teaching and learning across all tertiary institutions in the country undermining the long ASUU strike.
He said that with critical assessment on the TETFund boss, he has won vote of confidence. therefore described his activities as sterling performance, painstaking and meticulous processing, packaging, and execution of projects driven by transparency and accountability.
He described Echono as a seasoned and astute administrator, a civil servant par excellence, a detribilized, patriotic Nigerian, a core technocrat with an untainted and incorruptible track record.
Going further, he stated that his managerial skills cannot be matched in the offices he has held as far as efficient service delivery is concerned.
“It is in public domain that after the wise decision of our number one leader of our great and ruling party, the All Progressives Congress(APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, to appoint Arc. Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Nigerians and the tertiary institutions across the six geopolitical zones of the country are full of excitement over the appointment of Arc. Echono as Tetfund boss.
“It is not farfetched. He is a technocrat and high level professional who has brought his administrative expertise to bear as a trained architect, civil service experience and private sector proactive approach in tackling the infrastructural challenges confronting the nation’s higher institutions.
“Especially, in his 100 days in office, the landscape of tertiary institutions has greatly transformed with different heights, lengths and shapes of edifices with state of the art equipment and furniture under this short time of his being at the helms of affairs.
“Being a visionary and game-changer, he has rapidly upscaled the capacity building of undergraduates, graduates and post-graduates as over 35,000 scholars have already benefited from the intervention fund under his leadership.
“The statutory funds equitably distributed by Sonny Echono, after approval by President Muhammadu Buhari to Federal Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Federal Government Secondary Schools across the country.
“And it is on record that Arc. Echono has been able to reposition, restructure, reorganize, sanitize and transform the Tetfund board transparently like never before, hence notable achievements has been made so far. And he has been a able to address lapses in the nation’s tertiary education as it concerned proper funding and infrastructure lapses.
“Tetfund under Echono is evolving, there is this zeal and passion in addressing the areas of implementing special and regional intervention projects, and programmes across all Federal and State owned Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, which are enlisted under the purview of TETFund.
“Therefore, Tetfund under the watch of Arc. Echono has been able to provide legacy infrastructures including lecture theatre, academic office buildings, classrooms furniture and laboratories, libraries equipments, including construction of road networks within the higher institutions, provision of potable pipe bone water and creating conducive teaching and learning environment for students and lecturers.
However, he (Pathfinder) pointed out that in the area of management and distribution of Education Tax Funds in executing projects in the institutions despite the strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) did not affect the management of Tetfund in providing solutions to bridge the gap in physical infrastructure in the nation’s higher institutions, and he highly commended and passed overwhelming vote of confidence on the Echono-led administration for its focus and doggedness.
He added that, “and to this end as the National Coordinator of the Niger Delta APC Youth Vanguard, I want to use this medium to call on stakeholders in the education sector and all well meaning Nigerians to join hands and collaborate with the Tetfund Executive Secretary in other to enable him to succeed and to take the nation Education sector to enviable height.”
