Abdullahi Baffa, the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, has inaugurated the ultra-modern President Muhammadu Buhari Senate building at the University of Maiduguri, UNIMAID, Borno.
Mr Baffa commended the University for an Effective Utilisation of the N12 billion TETFUND interventions to the university in a statement signed by Ebikwo Benn, the Director, Corporate Affairs and Public Relations, TETFund, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr Baffa, while inaugurating the building and other projects, said that from 1999 till date, over N12 billion had been allocated to the university.
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He said out of the amount, the university had accessed over N11 billion and used same for various projects including the Senate building of the university.
Mr Baffa, however, decried that some institutions still had allocations for several years waiting to be accessed at TETFund, while UNIMAID had been able to access it up to the 2016 allocation.
He also informed the university community of the approval by the Federal Executive Council for TETFund to support the Regional Centre in Research and Production of Knowledge to counter violente extremism in university.
Aminu Goro, the Chairman, House Committee on Tertiary Education and Services, said that the clamour for upward review of accruable education tax to TETFund was justified the development in the university.
Mr Goro said that tertiary institutions in the country would have been mere glorified secondary schools without TETFund’s interventions.
“Over the years, I have had the privilege of visiting, inspecting and commissioning public buildings.
“If you will not accuse me of sentiment or being biased, I want to say the clamour for upward review of the percentage that is accruable to TETFund needs to be done.
“For over two years, we have been debating, there is a huge resistance from other demanding sectors that we should not increase provision for TETFund.
“But everyone needs to know that TETFund has justified the call for upward review, there are no two ways about it, we all agree that without TETFund, our tertiary institutions will have just been glorified secondary schools.
“We have seen what judicious use of public funds is all about and I think everyone should join us in the clamour,” the law maker said.
Responding, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ibrahim Njodi, said the presence of the high profile delegation was a clear testimony of confidence in the council and management of the university.
Mr Njodi said that the coming in of the management also showed the commitment to the realisation of the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari in the development of tertiary education in the country.
“This great occasion coincides with the significant improvement in the security of our host community following intensive efforts by the Federal Government, especially the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies in dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency.
“We have long decided under the guidance of the Senate, CPDD and management to sustain the university on an uninterrupted academic calendar, despite the devastating impact of the insurgency in the North East sub-region, and Maiduguri in particular.
“Consequently, the university has maintained stable academic activities and services without break since 2009,” he said.
Other projects commissioned by the TETfund executive secretary are the Centre for Instructional Technology; Veterinary Teaching Hospital Complex and 2,200 Seat Capacity mega lecture halls complex.
The TETFund team present at the occasion led by Baffa were Dr Jacob Alada, the Director, Corporate Planning and Development, Umar Bukar, the Director, Human Resource Management.
Others are Buhari Mikailu, Acting Head of Project Management Department and other other staff of the fund.
NAN
