TETFUND commends Ojukwu University on developmental strides

The Executive secretary TETFUND Dr. Abdulahi Bichi (left) with Vice Chancellor, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State, Prof. Fidelis Okafor during his visit to the Igbariam Campus of the institution recently.<br />

The executive secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Dr. Abulahi Baffa Bichi, has commanded Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, (COOU), Anambra State, for setting the pace in the prudent management of funds made available to universities in the country by the body for the provision of infrastructure for teaching, Learning and research.

Speaking at an awareness seminar organized by the organization at the Igbariam Campus of the institution yesterday, Dr. Bichi observed that Odumegwu Ojukwu University had the largest faculties of engineering and pharmaceutical sciences in the country and showered encomium on the award winning Vice Chancellor, Prof. Fidelis Okafor and the management for ploughing resources made available to the school into laudable projects.

“Today, TETFUND has confirmed that Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Anambra State has the biggest faculties of engineering and pharmaceutical sciences in Nigeria. The faculty of engineering that trails behind the one built by Ojukwu University is the one at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Kaduna State.”

He continued: “Ojukwu University, being a state-owned institution, gets less funds from TETFUND, compared to many other universities, but I was marveled seeing the faculties of engineering and that of pharmaceutical sciences at Uli and Igbariam, respectively, so, the university has achieved much with less”, the secretary noted.

He said that the body was encouraged by the feat and reassured that it would not relent in its statutory duties of providing funds for tertiary institutions for infrastructural development, research and manpower development.

Dr. Bichi advised other vice chancellors in the country to emulate the leadership style of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Vice Chancellor Prof. Fidelis Okafor and ensure prudent management of funds made available to them to advance learning.

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Fidelis Okafor, said that TETFUND had intervened in many aspects of the lives of many universities in Nigeria, adding that in Odumegwu Ojukwu University, many academic staff have benefitted in the training fund, saying many of them are still in Japan, some in Australia and in some other high-ranking institutions across the globe, on research and training through TETFUND intervention.

The Vice Chancellor noted with satisfaction that TETFUND had been the life-wire of the nations’ tertiary institutions, especially the universities, stressing that laudable projects funded by TETFUND in the institution included the pharmaceutical science and engineering complexes, faculty of agriculture, two laboratories, centre for entrepreneurships among others.

Prof. Okafor reiterated the need for state governments to rise to the challenge of funding their universities adequately and not to leave them for TETFUND alone.