Tertiary Education Trust Fund has been mandated by the Federal Government to ensure completion of all ongoing projects in tertiary institutions across the country.

To this end, the intervention agency has secured a special approval from the Federal Ministry of Education.

The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono stated this while addressing the management of the Benue State University who were on a courtesy visit to TETFund in Abuja.

Echono explained that over the years, TETFund has a very high rate for the completion of projects and that would be restored especially those ones that are close to completion.

"I am also pleased to inform you that we have secured the concurrence of the Honourable Minister of Education that from next year, we will have a special provision in our allocations for the completion of all ongoing projects."

"We have projects that commenced but because of fluctuations in prices of important building materials, because of the delay associated with the COVID lockdown and other disruption to other economic activities we now have both time and cost overhead and the earlier we address this the better for our country as we will not have abandoned projects litering round our campuses," Echono said.

The TETFund boss, commended the Benue state University for its contribution towards the production of relevant manpower in the country, and said the University is the first to be established in the entire northern part of Nigeria by a state government.

The Chairman of the Governing Council and Pro-Chancellor of the University who led the delegation, Sebastine Tar, SAN, said TETFund has committed about N7 billion to its various intervention projects in Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, from 1999 to date.

Tar, who congratulated Echono on his appointment as TETFund boss, commended President Muhammadu Buhari over his choice, even as he described the Executive Secretary as "one of our illustrious alumni, having graduated with a degree in MBA in Management from our University."

While expressing delight over the various TETFund projects that now dotted the University’s campus, the Pro-Chancellor appealed for the speedy completion of other ongoing projects.

"Our campus is dominated with TETFund-sponsored legacy structures including the central library, laboratories, lecture theatres, faculty buildings, student social centre, and entrepreneurship development centre, not excluding research (IBR, NRF, ARJ, AMB), academic training and conferences (foreign and local), post-doctoral, Bench work and developments in ICT.

"In all, the University has received about seven billion Naira (N7,000,000,000.00) in intervention from TETFund between 1999 and now.”

Speaking further, the Pro-Chancellor called for a waiver to access the 2021/2022 TETFund's allocations to enable the University's address its challenges as well as special intervention on the institution's library that was recently touched by heavy storm.

"We have a very small campus, and we desire to expand in terms of content-base and infrastructure. Our university has commenced appreciable steps with NUC to commence Architecture, Pharmacy, Engineering, and Building Engineering.

"Therefore, and further to the level of completion of the above listed projects, we hereby appeal to you to grant us a waiver to allow the University to access the 2021 and 2022 annual allocations to enable us to proceed with the projects tied to those allocations.

"We wish to also report that our central library suffered severe damage caused by a recent storm. This has left the building and property therein exposed to the elements. We desire to submit a request for disaster intervention."